ROBERT E. BRACKETT, Ph. D., NAMED FDA’S CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND APPLIED NUTRITION’S DIRECTOR OF FOOD SAFETY

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) today announced the appointment of Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., as the center's Food Safety Director. In this capacity, he will report directly to Joseph A. Levitt, director of the center.

In this position, Dr. Brackett will provide leadership for FDA’s food safety work, overseeing all aspects of food safety across the broad range of FDA's food safety responsibilities.

"It is vital to have an individual of Dr. Brackett’s caliber in this important position," said Dr. Bernard A. Schwetz, Acting Principal Deputy Commissioner for FDA. "Dr. Brackett possesses a high level of expertise in microbiological research, and his experience provides a firm basis for overseeing and strengthening our food safety program."

Dr. Brackett currently serves as a Senior Microbiologist in CFSAN’s Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages where he manages food safety issues related to these products. Prior to coming to FDA, Dr. Brackett was a Professor of Food Science and Technology in the Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement at the University of Georgia, where he was an active researcher in food microbiology, specializing in the microbiological safety of foods.

A native of Wisconsin, Dr. Brackett is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he received his B.S. degree in Bacteriology, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Food Microbiology.

He is an active member of the American Society for Microbiology, the Institute of Food Technologists, and is also a Past-President of the International Association for Food Protection.

In addition to serving on a variety of committees of various professional scientific organizations, Dr. Brackett has served as a member of the editorial boards for Applied Environmental Microbiology, Journal of Food Science, and Journal of Food Protection, and routinely reviews manuscripts for several other food safety related scientific journals.

Dr. Brackett is assuming his new duties this week.

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