Food Safety and Inspection Service leadership meets with public, industry representatives

The best sign that post-pandemic normalcy is back at USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is that everybody is again getting their meeting times.

That means that Dr. Emilio Esteban, USDA’s Under Secretary for Food Safety, is again rounding up top FSIS personnel like Administrator Paul Kiecker and his deputy Sandra Eskin for meetings with both public and industry representatives.

The FSIS discloses who attends these meetings, usually after several months. The attendance rosters indicate who has business with FSIS or at least show who is paying attention.

The most recent of these meetings where information is available occurred on Jan 18 when Esteban led back-to-back meetings, first for consumer representatives and then for industry. It was a “Zoom” meeting for the public groups, with industry representatives either getting a ” Zoom” option or personally showing up at USDA in Washington, D.C.

In addition to Eskin and Kiecker, others participating in the consumer meeting were Terri Nintemann, Deputy Administrator of FSIS; Atiya Khan, Chief of Staff of OFS; Dr. Jenifer Tolan, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff of FSIS; Rachel Edelstein, OPPD Assistant Administrator of FSIS; Dr. Denise Eblen, OPHS Assistant Administrator of FSIS; Paul Wolseley, OFO Assistant Administrator of FSIS; and Carol Blake, OPACE Assistant Administrator of FSIS.

Pretty much the same faces from FSiS participated in the industry stakeholder meeting.

The latest attendance lists for such meetings are from January. Food Safety News posts the lists as available.

In January individual meetings, Esteban and Eskin were focused on Extended Time-Limited Trials, apparently cleaning up from a March 2021 order issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota vacating the part of the USDA final rule eliminating line speed limits for New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS) establishments.

And here are those attendance lists:

Public Representatives:

• Thomas Gremillion, Consumer Federation of America
• Barbara Kowalcyk, GWU
• Kathryn Stolte-Carroll, GWU
• Connor Kippe, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
• Jaydee Hanson, Center for Food Safety
• Robert Lopez, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
• Angela Anandappa, Alliance for Advanced Sanitation
• Chuck Czuprynski, UW-Madison Food Research Institute
• James Kincheloe, Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Jeff Sindelar, University of Wisconsin
• Michael Hansen, Consumer Reports
• Mitzi Baum, Stop Foodborne Illness
• Patricia Buck, OSU-Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention
• Rachel Lyons, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
• Sarah Sorscher, Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Vanessa Coffman, Stop Foodborne Illness

Industry Representatives

In-Person Attendees

• Linsey Crowell, JBS Food Group
• Nicholas Althoff, JBS Food Group
• Jim Remcheck, U.S. Meat Export Federation
• Allen Johnson, Allen F. Johnson & Associates
• Rebecca Barnett, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
• Lindy Chiaia, National Turkey Federation
• Ashley Peterson, National Chicken Council
• Josh Ricken, National Chicken Council

External Attendees

• Addison Murtha, National Turkey Federation
• Anne Guilyard, Perkins Coie
• Ashley Johnson, National Pork Producers Council
• Ashley Lembke, American Foods Group
• Ben Dash, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC
• Brenden McCullough, National Beef
• Brent Kobielush, Conagra  
• Brian Eyink, Hogan Lovells US LLP
• Carmen Rottenberg, Groundswell Strategies
• Caroline Snell, Torrey Advisory Group, DC
• Casey Gallimore, North American Meat Institute
• Charles Link, Butterball, LLC
• Chelsie Romberger, Bell & Evans
• Clarissa Moreaux, North American Meat Institute
• Dane Bernard, Fulton Market Group
• David Goldman, Groundswell Strategies
• Denise Heard, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association
• Eric Bohl, Bockorny Group
• Erica Sanko, American Sheep Industry Association
• Garrett Borkhuis, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council
• Hiroko Bray, Smithfield Foods
• Jennifer Norka, American Frozen Food Institute
• John Dillard, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC
• Katie Volkenant, Cargill
• KatieRose McCullough, North American Meat Institute
• Keith Day, Twin Rivers Foods
• Kelly Baker, Maple Leaf Farms
• Kelly Gartner, Bell & Evans 
• Kristin Lindahl, Cargill
• Kyle Donnelly, Empirical Foods
• Lenora Howard, Conagra Brands
• Lisa Brown, Tyson Foods, Inc.
• Lynette Schroeder, Tyson Foods, Inc.
• Mark Bowen, National Fisheries Institute
• Matthew Allan, North American Meat Institute
• Michael Roberson, Publix
• Norm Robertson, North American Meat Institute
• Paige Parker, U.S. Meat Export Federation
• Pat Mies, National Beef
• Peggy Cook, Neogen
• Rafael Rivera, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association
• Randy Green, Watson Green, LLC
• Riette Van Laack, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara PC
• Robert Elder, National Beef
• Rosalie Geselbracht, Shamrock Foods
• Roya Galindo, North American Meat Institute
• Ryan Algino, JBS USA Food Company
• Scott Leach, JBS USA Food Company
• Sharon Birkett, OSI Group
• Sherri Trujillo, JBS USA Food Company
• Stephen Sothmann, North American Meat Institute
• Susan Backus, North American Meat Institute
• Tina Rendon, Pilgrim’s Pride
• Zachary Cameron, Tyson Foods, Inc.

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