Tag Archives: Mindy Brashears

Frank Yiannas, VP of Food Safety, Walmart

Boar’s Head Appoints Frank Yiannas as Chief Food Safety Advisor and Finalizes Food Safety Advisory Council

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Frank Yiannas, VP of Food Safety, Walmart

Boar’s Head Brand announced on October 3 the appointment of Frank Yiannas, MPH, as Chief Food Safety Advisor on an interim basis, effective immediately. In this leadership role, Mr. Yiannas will be responsible for helping to ensure leading standards of food safety and quality across the organization. He will also oversee the nationwide search for a Chief Food Safety Officer to succeed him.

In addition to his responsibilities as Chief Food Safety Advisor, Mr. Yiannas will chair the “Boar’s Head Food Safety Advisory Council,” which is comprised of independent industry-leading food safety experts. The council will provide guidance and support to the company’s adoption and implementation of enhanced quality food safety programs. As previously announced, additional founding council members include Dr. David Acheson, Dr. Mindy Brashears, and Dr. Martin Wiedmann. 

Frank Yiannas will deliver the Closing Keynote at the Food Safety Consortium Conference October 20-22 in Washington DC.

 

Editors Note: in addition to Mr. Yiannas, Dr. Martin Wiedmann is presenting at the Food Safety Consortium Conference and will address the threat of Listeria monocytogenes, a significant pathogen often associated with food processing environments. He will share his passion and experience, which includes addressing microbial food safety and quality challenges from farm to table and emphasize the importance of disassembly and breakdown in food processing equipment. Martin will also present his research findings on reducing foodborne illnesses, explaining how this dangerous microorganism can persist in food environments, and outline the critical steps required to control and eliminate Listeria contamination.

More Information is at www.FoodSafetyConsortium.org

 

 

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Secretary of Agriculture Perdue Names Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has named Mindy Brashears, Ph.D. as deputy undersecretary for food safety, a position that does not require confirmation by the Senate. She has also been re-nominated for the role of under secretary for food safety, a more senior role that requires Senate confirmation, by President Trump. The President’s initial nomination of Brashears expired in early January and was resubmitted to the Senate in the 116th Congress.

“I want to thank these three for their patience, as their professional lives have been placed on hold for months during their nomination process. Now, they will get to work right away on behalf of the American people,” stated Perdue in a USDA news release. The other folks Perdue is referring to are Naomi Earp, nominated as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights and Scott Hutchins, nominated for deputy undersecretary for research, education and economics—both of whom were also nominated for higher roles that require Senate confirmation. “I urge the Senate to act on their new nominations as quickly as possible, so we can have them in the positions for which they were intended in the first place.”

Brashears is a professor of food safety and public health, as well as the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Her research program aims to improve food safety standards that enhance public health. Some of her work has resulted in the commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle. Other credentials include leading international research teams in Mexico and Central and South America with the goal of improving food safety and security, along with establishing sustainable agriculture in impoverished regions.