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Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

FDA OFFICIAL RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL FOOD SAFETY AWARD

Mr. Pete Cook, an epidemiological investigations coordinator for FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs, has been given the International Association for Food Protection’s (IAFP) "Sanitarian of the Year Award" for 2001. Mr. Cook is being recognized for his outstanding service in promoting the food safety science and education at the federal, state and local levels.

Mr. Cook is one of several consumer safety officers based at FDA headquarters who coordinate the agency’s emergency operations in response to situations such as outbreaks of foodborne illness, product recalls and tampering incidents. He and his colleagues, who share "on call" duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, represent FDA’s front line of protection against public health emergencies.

Prior to joining FDA in 1985, Mr. Cook served as a food safety expert with other organizations including the U.S. National Park Service, Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Saginaw and Washtenaw Counties (MI) Health Departments and the Missouri Division of Health. He holds Master degrees in both Sanitary Sciences and Environmental Health.

The IAFP, which is based in Des Moines, Iowa, is an international organization of food safety professionals in the public, private and academic sectors. Its mission is to advance knowledge about how to make the world’s food supply safer. Mr. Cook will formally receive his award at the August 8, IAFP awards banquet, in Minneapolis, MN.

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