| June 6, 2001 |
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) today announced the appointment of Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., as the center's Food Safety Director. In this capacity, he will report directly to Joseph A. Levitt, director of the center.
In this position, Dr. Brackett will provide leadership for FDA’s food safety work, overseeing all aspects of food safety across the broad range of FDA's food safety responsibilities.
"It is vital to have an individual of Dr. Brackett’s caliber in this important position," said Dr. Bernard A. Schwetz, Acting Principal Deputy Commissioner for FDA. "Dr. Brackett possesses a high level of expertise in microbiological research, and his experience provides a firm basis for overseeing and strengthening our food safety program."
Dr. Brackett currently serves as a Senior Microbiologist in CFSAN’s Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages where he manages food safety issues related to these products. Prior to coming to FDA, Dr. Brackett was a Professor of Food Science and Technology in the Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement at the University of Georgia, where he was an active researcher in food microbiology, specializing in the microbiological safety of foods.
A native of Wisconsin, Dr. Brackett is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he received his B.S. degree in Bacteriology, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Food Microbiology.
Dr. Brackett is assuming his new duties this week.
A copy of the press release is available on FDA's Web site at http://www.fda.gov.
FDA recently issued advice to pregnant women and women who may become pregnant on the potential hazards from consuming certain kinds of fish that may contain high levels of methyl mercury. The advisory, issued in its current form in March 2001, updates FDA’s methyl mercury advice initially issued in September 1994. It is available on the Internet at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg.html.
An indexed collection of documents considered by FDA in developing its advisory is available on the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s (CFSAN) Web site at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/hgpdftoc.html
To obtain the same documents in CD-Rom format, fax requests, including your name and mailing address, to CFSAN’s toll-free fax line, 1-877-FOODFACS
(1-877-366-3322).
In 1998, FDA signed a five-year contract with the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) to provide scientific review and analysis of issues in food safety, food processing and human health. Under the terms of the contract FDA asked IFT to provide an in-depth review of pathogens that might be found in cold-smoked fish products, to identify processing parameters that may contribute to pathogen growth, and to review options available to eliminate or inhibit foodborne pathogens in smoked fish products. To address the issues, IFT prepared a report describing the situation with regard to the safety of consuming cold-smoked fish. Focusing attention on cold-smoked finfish, the panel reviewed the most significant and likely to occur hazards in cold-smoked products--Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, human parasites, and biogenic amines. A copy of the report is available on the Internet at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/ift2-toc.html.
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Food Safety Initiative Staff E-mail: chall@cfsan.fda.gov |
Office Number: (202) 260-8920 · FAX (202) 260-9653 CFSAN Web site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/ |
Hypertext updated by kwg 2001-JUN-08