Head of USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service, Brashears oversees the federal agency’s regulation of the meat and poultry industries in the United States.
Brashears came to USDA from Texas Tech University, where she was a professor of food safety and public health and the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence. Her research program focused on improving food safety standards to make an impact on public health. Brashears’ work evaluated interventions in pre- and postharvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal-feeding systems.
She also led international research teams of students and faculty on visits to Mexico and Central and South America to improve food safety and security in these regions and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas. She taught courses in food microbiology and food safety and offered industry training opportunities in hazard analysis and critical control points, food sanitation, recalls, and food security.