Mindy Brashears, the former Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been nominated again for a second term by Trump. For her first term she was nominated by Trump and confirmed by a Senate vote on March 23, 2020 and concluded her service on January 20, 2021. Dr. Emilio Esteban, currently the Chief Scientific Officer for Mérieux NutriSciences’ North America division, and Head of its Global Analytical Hub was the Undersecretary for Food Safety at USDA who succeeded Brashears.
Her responsibilities as Under Secretary included leading the nation’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and its team of over 10,000 food inspectors and scientists. She chaired the Codex Alimentarius Policy Committee, which made her the highest-ranking food safety official in the U.S. government during her tenure.
Following her time at USDA, she returned to her role as professor of food microbiology and food safety at Texas Tech University where she is the director for the International Center for Food Industry Excellence
Brashears nomination for the Senate confirmation process is now before the Senate Committee on Agriculture. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.
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Dr. Esteban joined the USDA FSIS in 2001 and was appointed Chief Scientist of the FSIS in August 2018.
