WASHINGTON, May 4, 2007 -U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has named members to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI).

The NACMPI was established in 1971 to the provide advice and recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on meat and poultry inspection programs. Membership is drawn from a broad range of groups interested in food safety including consumers, producers, processors, exporters and importers of meat and poultry products, as well as those in academia, public health, and federal and state government.

The members are selected to serve a two-year term. The committee generally meets twice a year and addresses food safety and policy issues of concern to the USDA.

A complete list of the nominees is attached. Members will be confirmed upon their acceptance of appointment to the NACMPI.

NOTE: Access news releases and other information at FSIS' Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov

NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON MEAT AND POULTRY INSPECTION 2007 - 2009 COMMITTEE

• Ms. Kibbe M. Conti, Northern Plains Nutrition Consulting, Rapid City, SD
• Mr. Brian R. Covington, Keystone Foods LLC, West Conshohocken, PA
• Dr. Catherine N. Cutter, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
• Dr. James S. Dickson, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
• Mr. Kevin M. Elfering, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, St. Paul, MN
• Mr. Mike W. Finnegan, Montana Meat & Poultry, Inspection Bureau, Helena, MT
• Ms. Carol Tucker Foreman, Consumer Federation of America, Chevy Chase, MD
• Dr. Andrea L. Grondahl, North Dakota Department of Agriculture, Bismarck, ND
• Dr. Joseph J. Harris, Southwest Meat Association, Bryan, TX
• Dr. Craig W. Henry, Food Products Association, Washington, D.C.
• Ms. Cheryl D. Jones, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
• Mr. Ken Kelly, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, D.C.
• Mr. Michael E. Kowalcyk, DunnhumbyUSA LLC, Cincinnati, OH
• Dr. Shelton E. Murinda, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA
• Dr. Edna Negron-Bravo, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR
• Dr. Michael L. Rybolt, National Turkey Federation, Washington, D.C.
• Mr. Mark P. Schad, Schad Meats, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
• Dr. Stanley A. Stromberg, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, Oklahoma City, OK