CFSAN's Michael Landa To Pass Leadership Torch

By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition — operating under the Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine — plays a critical role in ensuring the safety of America’s food supply

This coming January, the leadership reins of CFSAN will change hands as the current director, Michael M. Landa, will step down and Dr. Susan T. Mayne will assume his role. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), announced that Mayne, the author or co-author of more than 200 scientific publications, comprehends the deep-seated rapport between science and the FDA’s public health mission.

CFSAN regulates approximately $417 billion worth of domestic food and another $49 billion of imported foods. Not including restaurants, retail food outlets, and institutional food service facilities, CFSAN is responsible for more than 377,000 establishments that are required to register with the FDA.  The FDA’s responsibility in terms of food safety includes all domestic and imported food, except for those under the direct authority of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) — eggs (liquid, frozen, and dried), meat, and poultry.

In addition to the myriad of responsibilities within the cosmetic industry, CFSAN’s primary responsibilities regarding our nation’s food safety are:

• Coordinating global food standards and international food safety
• Performing industry outreach and education
• Maintaining cooperative programs with state, local, and other Federal authorities
• Creating Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) for the seafood and juice industries
• Carrying out activities and regulation having to do with proper food labeling
• Overseeing policy and regulation in regard to infant formulas, medical foods, and dietary supplements
• Developing programs — both regulatory and research-based — addressing the associated health risks of biological, foodborne, and chemical contaminants
• Managing compliance and surveillance of the food industry, post market
•  Ensuring safety of ingredients and foods developed through biotechnology (GMO)
• Collaborating with the food industry and academic institutions

CFSAN’s, and soon to be Mayne’s, food-safety priorities will include a host of concerns. Foodborne pathogens, allergen controls, naturally occurring toxins, toxic metals, unsanitary conditions, and product tampering are all within CFSAN’s purview. Mayne’s leadership and the FDA’s ambitious commitment may be the combination necessary to ensure the success of the FDA’s Strategic Priorities 2014-2018 and FSMA’s successful implementation.