Friday, December 20, 2013

USDA gets new food safety head



USDA gets new food safety head
December 19, 2013, 05:44 pm
By Julian Hattem
The former deputy for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been promoted.

Brian Ronholm has been named the acting undersecretary for food safety, The Hill has confirmed, making him the top-ranking food safety official in the country. He replaces Elisabeth Hagen, who left for an advisory post with the consulting firm Deloitte this month.

President Obama has yet to name a permanent successor to the position.

The appointment was first reported by Food Safety News earlier on Thursday.

Ronholm has been in the post since Monday.

He started as deputy undersecretary in 2011, after working for Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on agriculture appropriations issues. DeLauro was the former chairwoman of the House subcommittee responsible for USDA funding and has long been vocal about food safety.

As acting head of food safety at the USDA, Ronholm will oversee the Food Safety and Inspection Service, which regulates most meat and poultry and some egg products.

Hagen served in the post since 2010, during which time she oversaw a range of efforts to strengthen the country’s food safety rules. Among those were draft regulations requiring mandatory labeling of mechanically tenderized meat and a proposed overhaul of poultry plants inspections.

Ronholm and whomever the president nominates to permanently fill the slot will be tasked with completing work on those regulations, as well as a host of other efforts to combat E. Coli, salmonella and other food-borne bacteria.

In coming months, the USDA’s food safety agency is planning to release draft regulations defining when meat and poultry products can be labeled as “natural” and addressing a number of trade issues.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Elisabeth Hagen is the under secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and a consultant for Deloitte.

Note: Deloitte LLP was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
Charles F. Wald is a senior adviser for Deloitte LLP, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress, the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the American Constitution Society.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and was a supporter for the Center for American Progress.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Ramona E. Romero was a director at the American Constitution Society, and is the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Daniel R. Glickman is a director, Congressional Program for the Aspen Institute (think tank), was the secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and a senior adviser at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP was a funder for the Center for American Progress.
J. David Carlin is a partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, and was the assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Valerie B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).



No comments: