The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) fresh produce chief will join the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help develop new food safety rules, as part of a cooperative initiative between the FDA and the USDA.
This announcement comes amid beefed-up outreach efforts with key agriculture and safe food stakeholders to better share and exchange produce safety "best practices" and ideas.
Leanne Skelton, chief of the Fresh Products Branch of the USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS), has extensive experience working with the fruit and vegetable industry. Skelton has been with the Fresh Products Branch for more than 22 years, working in inspections, grading and certification, standardization, training, and managing the Branch's financial and information technology activities.
Skelton will be on detail with the FDA for six months as she helps the FDA develop new safety regulations for produce.
"USDA is committed to working with our partners to ensure that Americans have access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Through the initiative, the FDA is gathering information and seeking feedback from the fresh produce industry, including small and organic farmers, on the impact such rules may have on their businesses and lives.
In addition, USDA and FDA officials have been traveling together to meet with farmers and local food safety offi cials. Most recently, the FDA and the USDA visited farms in North Carolina and will soon visit Florida.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg iterated the agency's commitment to listen and learn from all those with a role in protecting the safety of the food system. "It is vitally important for us to hear ideas, concerns, and experiences directly from local growers around the country as we develop rules to help protect the safety of fresh produce from the farm to the table," she said. "We will be that much more effective by working closely with farmers, our USDA partners and with state and local food safety agencies."
The detail and the joint outreach efforts further underscore the two agencies' commitment to work cooperatively on food safety.
