The Obama Administration has filled a key role within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its bid to bolster US food safety.

The agency has announced the inaugural appointment of Michael R Taylor as Deputy Commissioner for Foods. The post was created along with the Office of Foods in August 2009.

Taylor will help the FDA to develop and implement a prevention-based strategy for food safety, plan implementation of new food safety legislation, and ensure that food labels contain clear and accurate information on nutrition.

His first major task will be to ready the FDA for the new powers that Congress is likely to hand the agency when the much publicised food safety bill is passed sometime this year, he told the New York Times. These are expected to included greater authority to recall food, the obligatory implementation of safety plans by processors and manufacturers and an increase in plant inspections.

The new Deputy Commissioner is well known in the food safety field and has held a number of high-level positions at the USDA and FDA. He has also worked as a professor in academia and on several National Academy of Science committees.

Source: Food Quality News

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