September 6, 2002

CFSAN Welcomes New Senior Staff

David Acheson M.D., F.R.C.P.
Chief Medical Officer
Office of Science

Dr. David Acheson comes to CFSAN from the University of Maryland's Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine where has been Associate Professor. Dr. Acheson is known nationally and internationally as an expert on Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and foodborne disease. His main interest is in foodborne diseases, specifically in relation to public health and the molecular pathogenesis of foodborne microbes.

Dr. Acheson graduated from the University of London, Westminster Medical School, and completed his medical training in the United Kingdom, specializing in infectious diseases. He then was granted a fellowship at New England Medical Center and Tufts University in Boston to study Shiga toxins from E. coli O157:H7. At Tufts, he became Associate Professor of Medicine, developed a basic research program, and was the principal investigator on a number of grants to study Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

Dr. Acheson is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London, and of the Infectious Disease Society of America. He is on the editorial board of Infection and Immunity and is currently the special editor on food safety for Clinical Infectious Diseases. He has been a member of the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria for Foods since 1998 and has served on World Health Organization working groups as well as National Institutes of Health advisory committees.

Over the last 2 years, Dr. Acheson has been on a part-time Intergovernmental Personnel Act attachment to the Office of Public Health and Science in the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). During this time, he was heavily involved in outbreak investigations and recalls, as well as biosecurity.

Linda Katz, M.D., M.P.H.
Director
Office of Cosmetics and Colors

Dr. Linda Katz comes to CFSAN from FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation (CDER). As a Supervisory Medical Officer in the Office of Drug Evaluation V, she served as the Deputy Director, Division of Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drug Products, the Associate Director of Cosmetic Drug Products, and Deputy Director for the Division of Dermatologic and Dental Drug Products. In these capacities, she was actively involved in the review and approval of OTC drugs, prescription dermatologic and dental drugs, and served as the liaison to CFSAN on cosmetic products having drug claims. Her expertise includes program management, regulatory policymaking, and supervision.

Dr. Katz received her B.A. in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, her M.P.H. from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and her M.D. from the University of Connecticut. She served her internship, residency, and fellowship at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC. She joined CDER, FDA in 1989 working in CDER as a primary medical reviewer for Investigational New Drugs (INDs) and New Drug Applications (NDAs) before assuming a supervisory management role. She is an accomplished public speaker and the author of numerous scientific publications.

Susan Walker, M.D.
Associate Director for Clinical Affairs
Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements

Dr. Susan Walker comes to CFSAN from CDER, FDA, where she has focused on dermatologic and dental drug products. She will act as an advisor to the Office Director and, as appropriate, other agency units on potential medical consequences related to the evaluation of the clinical data for foods, special nutritional products, dietary supplements, and label claims.

Dr. Walker earned her M.D. from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine. After completing a surgical internship and a dermatology residency, Dr. Walker became Assistant Department Head of the Dermatology Department of the Naval Hospital at Oakland, CA. In 1995, she became Chief of the Dermatology Section for the Department of Veteran's Affairs Northern California System before joining CDER's Division of Dermatologic and Dental Drug Products.

Dr. Walker will serve as an advocate for the medical sciences within the Office, including assisting in the planning and review of Office policies, programs, practices, and infrastructure that influence the effectiveness and quality of the work performed by Center medical sciences staff. She will also work with the Office divisions on cross-cutting issues to facilitate the evaluation of medical data, and work with the Center's other senior scientists to ensure that medical sciences are appropriately considered and evaluated in the planning and review of Office research and review activities.

Report of Food Code Adoptions by States

A report produced through an FDA contract with the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) reveals that 41 of 56 State and Territorial agencies report that they now pattern their codes after the FDA Food Codes of 1993, 1995, 1997, or 1999. The Food Code is FDA's guidance to State, local, and Tribal Nations' retail food regulatory agencies for science-based public health regulation of food service and retail food establishments. Seventeen of the 56 States and Territories are covered entirely by codes patterned after the 1999 FDA Food Code. And a number of these States are now in the process of updating their codes to pattern after the 2001 Food Code that was just recently issued. Seventy-six percent of the U.S. population resides in States that have adopted codes patterned after one of the versions of the FDA Food Code, and almost 25 percent of the U.S. population resides in States that pattern after the 1999 Code. Of the 15 States and Territories that are not yet using an FDA Food Code, 11 are actively pursuing Food Code adoption rule-making.

AFDO is now conducting the second phase of this study to determine Food Code adoptions in Tribal Nations. This phase will be followed by a compilation of local agency Food Code adoptions.

FDA has placed on its website (www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ear/fcadopt.html) the first phase report of State adoptions of codes patterned after the FDA Food Code. The website provides State-by-State identification of specific FDA Food Code adoption status.