The Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday held a confirmation hearing for Dr. Mindy Brashears, who is the nominee for USDA’s Under Secretary for Food Safety.
The committee did not hold a vote. A follow-up meeting of the committee must be scheduled to hold the vote, followed by a subsequent vote on the Senate floor, before Dr. Brashears is confirmed.
“Starting with Dr. Brashears,” Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) said in the hearing, “the work of the Food Safety mission area is one of the most consequential responsibilities of USDA. Ensuring the safety of the U.S. food supply is critical, and extraordinarily complex. Dr. Brashears knows this well having led this mission area through the pandemic — one of the most challenging times in the history of our food supply chain.”
“I was pleased that earlier this year, USDA extended the line speed waivers for pork and poultry processors after years of duplicative study confirmed what decades of research already indicated, and I look forward to hearing more about the Department’s work to develop a long-term program consistent with the latest scientific advancements,” Chairman Boozman continued. “This committee’s work to expeditiously advance Dr. Brashears nomination will help us ensure FSIS remains the gold standard worldwide for meat, poultry, and egg product safety.”
Prior to her nomination, Dr. Brashears served as the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence and as a professor of food microbiology and food safety at Texas Tech University. Dr. Brashears also served as a professor of food safety and public health at Texas Tech University for nearly twenty years before joining USDA as Deputy Under Secretary of Food Safety in 2019. Dr. Brashears served in that role throughout the remainder of the Trump administration.
NCC in August sent a letter to Senate leadership urging swift Senate confirmation of Dr. Brashears.
“Dr. Brashears is eminently qualified to fulfill the critical role of overseeing the safety of the nation’s meat and poultry products,” the letter said. “Dr. Brashears was unanimously confirmed in 2020 to the same role for which she is again nominated – a position she held until the end of the first Trump Administration.”
“The Under Secretary for Food Safety is a critical role within the department that should be filled rapidly to assist the Secretary of Agriculture in ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of the nation’s supply of meat, poultry, and egg products,” the letter continued. “Dr. Brashears’ previous work as Under Secretary of Food Safety and her background and experience in the area of food safety have demonstrated her leadership on these issues.”
The letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY), and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL). The National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, and the Meat Institute also signed the letter, which can be found here.
