Secretary Perdue Appoints New Members to National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the appointment of 18 new members and 12 returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF).

“Food safety and ensuring public health continue to be at the forefront of USDA’s mission,” said Perdue. “The committee members represent a diverse group from academia, consumers, the food industry, laboratories, consultants, and government agencies all of which play an important role in providing scientific advice and expertise to USDA on food safety and wholesomeness.”

NACMCF was established in 1988 by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the Department of Commerce (National Marine Fisheries Service), and the U.S. Department of Defense. NACMCF is a discretionary advisory committee that provides impartial scientific advice and peer reviews to food safety agencies on public health issues related to the safety and wholesomeness of domestic, imported and exported foods.

The newly appointed NACMCF members to serve two-year terms are:

Mr. Aaron Asmus, Hormel Foods Corporate Services, LLC
Ms. Peggy Cook, Wheatsheaf Group
Ms. DeAnn Davis, Church Brothers Farms
Dr. James Dickson, Iowa State University
Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, University of Georgia
Dr. Joseph Eifert, Virginia Tech
Dr. Philip Elliott, Kellogg Company
Dr. Wendy McMahon, Silliker, Inc.
Dr. Kathleen Glass, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus, North Carolina State University
Ms. Patty Lewandowski, Florida Department of Health
Dr. Angela Melton-Celsa, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Dr. Haley Oliver, Purdue University
Dr. Jenny Scott, Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Scott Stillwell, Tyson Foods, Inc.
Dr. Valentina Trinetta, Kansas State University
Dr. Alissa Wilma, Department of Defense
Dr. Francisco Zagmutt, EpiX, Analytics, LLC

Reappointed NACMCF members are:

Dr. Gary Acuff, Texas A&M University
Ms. Vanessa Coffman, Consumer Representative
Dr. Carolyn Hovde, University of Idaho
Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie, IEH Laboratories
Dr. Bala Kottapalli, ConAgra Foods, Inc.
Dr. Margie Lee, Virginia Tech
Dr. Evelyne Mbandi, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Dr. Omar Oyarzabal, University of Vermont
Dr. Laurie Post, Diebel Laboratories
Dr. John Ruby, Passport Food Safety Solutions
Ms. Angela Ruple, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Dr. Robert Tauxe, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention