UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Mindy Brashears, deputy undersecretary for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will be the speaker at the Penn State Department of Food Science seminar at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, in 252 Rodney A. Erickson Food Science Building on the University Park campus.

The title of her presentation is “2020 Vision: Focus on the Future.” There will be a meet-and-greet in the Keeney Commons of the Food Science Building from 3 to 4 p.m. prior to the seminar.

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.