Mindy Brashears Returns as USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety, Pledges Broader Salmonella Strategy

Mindy Brashears has returned to the helm of U.S. food safety as Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA (搜索)搜索该词条), following her Senate confirmation on December 18 of last year. A food microbiologist from Texas Tech University, Brashears previously served in the role from March 23, 2020, to January 20, 2021, and now brings a renewed focus on pathogen reduction with an emphasis on broadening the agency's Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病 strategy.

"I can honestly say I am super happy to be here, and I am enjoying the job every day, but it's not really easy every day. It's actually difficult and a challenge," Brashears told Food Safety News.

A Broader Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病 Framework

Brashears takes a notably different approach to Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病 than her predecessors. In April 2024, then-Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a finalized policy declaring Salmonella an adulterant in raw breaded stuffed chicken products when contamination reaches one colony-forming unit (1 CFU) per gram or higher. Brashears confirmed that this adulterant declaration is not currently being enforced by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) because it cannot be accurately measured at this time.

"Their focus was on one single product in one industry, adulterant status in raw breaded and stuffed chicken breast, and really focusing only on the poultry segment of the industry," Brashears said. "My approach is, we're going to be broader."

She emphasized the need to "expand our lens outside of poultry" to include both pork and beef, noting that both are major sources of Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病 illnesses. "With Salmonella, we need to push the bar higher to make sure we get to the Salmonella that are actually causing the illness, and that's where we are going to move the bar in terms of public health metrics," she said.

Drawing a parallel to the landmark E. coli O157:H7 (搜索)搜索该疾病 adulterant designation, Brashears argued for a more targeted approach: "When E. coli O157:H7 was declared an adulterant, it was very specific to the most pathogenic types of E. coli. We didn't just say E. coli as an adulterant; it was O157, and then it went all the way down to the genes responsible for pathogenicity, and that's where we have to go [with Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病]."

Breaded chicken products, which account for approximately five percent of foodborne illnesses linked to chicken, were targeted previously because they are pre-browned and cooked from a frozen state, creating a risk that the raw component may not reach the internal temperature required to kill pathogens.

Modernizing Listeria (搜索)搜索该疾病 Oversight

Beyond Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病, Brashears identified Listeria (搜索)搜索该疾病 policy as another priority. "How to retrain, regroup, and modernize our approaches to Listeria and ready-to-eat meats is, I think, extremely important," she said. "We are still collecting data, have finished collecting some of the initial data, and are regrouping on how to utilize that to move forward in a new way. So, that is really a seamless transition."

Continuity and Scientific Foundation

Brashears stressed that the core mission remains unchanged across administrations. "I'm very grateful to be able to say that in the food safety mission area, no matter who is at the helm for president or secretary, we can always say our mission is the same, and that's to provide safe food for American families," she said. "I also agree that there's always been a data-driven, science-based approach throughout, and so we're absolutely not starting from scratch."

She acknowledged the value of the previous administration's work: "I definitely feel that the way the previous administration approached Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病 was important for us because it opened the door to awareness and made the industry more ready to accept some of the things that we will roll out."

Leadership Gaps and the Road Ahead

The Under Secretary for Food Safety position, created by the USDA (搜索)搜索该词条 Reorganization Act of 1994, has experienced significant vacancies. According to Food Safety News analysis, the position has been vacant for a total of 3,881 days—equivalent to more than ten years—since its inception. The six prior Under Secretaries served approximately 6,800 days combined, with the largest gap occurring when President Obama did not nominate a successor after Elisabeth Hagen resigned in 2013.

Brashears' first confirmation took 430 days, and her second took 199 days. She is now positioned to become one of the longest-serving Under Secretaries since the office was created.

Brashears brings extensive credentials to the role: she has authored over 130 research papers, holds more than 20 patents related to food safety innovations, and previously directed the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Her responsibilities include overseeing more than 10,000 food inspectors and scientists.

"Salmonella (搜索)搜索该疾病 is still one of my primary priorities, if not the top one, as opposed to some of the regulatory agenda items we always have to stay on top of," Brashears said. "From one administration to the next, we will always focus on providing safe food for American families."