Albany, Calif.

On Sept. 28, officials from USDA Headquarters visited the FSIS Office of Field Operations (OFO) Alameda District Office.

Pictured, back row, from left: Frontline Supervisor (FLS) Dr. Gregory Abreu, Deputy District Manager (DDM) Frank Gillis, FLS Heather Havens, District Veterinary Medical Specialist Dr. Lucy Anthenill, District Manager William Griffin, OFO Deputy Assistant Administrator Dr. Hany Sidrak, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin, Resource Manager Sukhdeep (Tutu) Sidhu, FLS Dr. Alaaeldeen Ahmed.

Front row, from left: District Case Specialist Lisa Wang, DDM Dr. Virginia Felix, Resource Coordinator Suyin (Sandy) Cai, Office of Food Safety Chief of Staff Atiya Khan, Deputy Administrator Terri Nintemann.

Photo by Supervisory Chemist JaNeé Demery, OPHS.

Oakland, Calif.

On Sept. 28, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin and FSIS leaders toured an export warehouse and visited with FSIS personnel. During the visit, they also met with warehouse management, discussing port delays and the increased volume of exports.

Pictured, back row, from left: Alameda District Deputy Manager Frank Gillis, Eskin, OFO Deputy Assistant Administrator Dr. Hany Sidrak, Alameda District Manager William Griffin.

Front row, from left: Supervisory Enforcement, Analysis, and Investigations Officer Michelle Tiojanco; Consumer Safety Inspector Claire Calderon; Deputy Administrator Terri Nintemann; Frontline Supervisor Dr. Al Ahmed.

Photo by Chief of Staff Atiya Khan, OFS.

Petaluma, Calif.

On Sept. 29, USDA and FSIS officials, including Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin and FSIS Deputy Administrator Terri Nintemann, visited field personnel and toured a new mobile slaughter unit in Northern California. They met with in-plant personnel, observed red meat slaughter operations, and discussed the viability of mobile slaughter units as a possible solution for remote areas of the nation without access to a nearly USDA-inspected slaughter establishment.

Pictured, back row, from left: Consumer Safety Inspector Roland Smith, Alameda District Manager William Griffin, Frontline Supervisor Dr. Gregory Abreu, Office of Field Operations Deputy Assistant Administrator Dr. Hany Sidrak.

Front row, from left: Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Alanna Kirby, Eskin, Nintemann, Office of Food Safety Chief of Staff Atiya Khan. 

Photo by an establishment employee.

Petaluma, Calif.

On Sept. 29, officials from USDA Headquarters and from the FSIS Alameda District Office visited a poultry slaughter and processing establishment that operates under the New Poultry Inspection System. The officials met with FSIS in-plant personnel and observed both slaughter and processing operations.

From left: Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Clara Ponce, Deputy Administrator Terri Nintemann, Frontline Supervisor Dr. Gregory Abreu, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin, Alameda District Manager William Griffin, Consumer Safety Inspector Patricia Delgadillo, Supervisory Consumer Safety Inspector Billy Rushing, OFO Deputy Assistant Administrator Dr. Hany Sidrak.

Photo by Chief of Staff Atiya Khan, OFS.

Albany, Calif.

On Sept. 29, officials from USDA headquarters visited the Western Laboratory at the USDA Western Regional Research Center building.

Pictured, front row, from left: Chemist Dr. Stephen Kubota; Sample Supply Technician (SST) Misael Duran; Physical Science Technician Hue Quach; Chemists LanNhi Pham, Dr. Youl Han, and Ruthie Siao; Office of Food Safety Chief of Staff Atiya Khan; Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Sandra Eskin; Chemistry Branch Chief Kim Nguyen; Microbiologists Olivia Vu and Chester Sarreal.

Second row from left: SST Dharma Lioe; Chemist Dr. Roehl Cinco; Microbiologist Anita Liang; Deputy Administrator Terri Nintemann; Deputy Assistant Administrator Dr. Hany Sidrak; Microbiologists Tyler Ho and Jaszemyn Yambao.

Third row, from left: SSTs Kamau Burnett and Christopher Muravez; Supervisory Chemist JaNeé Demery; Microbiologists Yolando Gleason, Molly Trump, Victor Abravanel, and Norman Pabros; SST James Pacheco, Biological Science Laboratory Technician Jordan Quezon.

Back row, from left: SST Frederick Sims; Sample Supply Handling Specialist Samar Walker; Supervisory Microbiologist Kelly Romanolo; Microbiologists Dr. David Campos, Oymon Leong, and Elvin Yuen.

Photo by Western Research Center Receptionist Lillian Clark.

St. Paul, Minn.

On Oct. 12, the Des Moines District, in conjunction with University of Minnesota (UMN), held a Food Safety Summit. The goal of the summit was to educate, exchange information, and open lines of communication between industry, public health officials, and regulatory agencies. Topics included poultry sampling, compliance updates, UMN Salmonella intervention research, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s partnership with local agencies, and the revised FSIS Appendix A and Appendix B cooking and cooling guidelines. Participants enjoyed the opportunity to interact with USDA, academia, and industry to clarify concerns and to comment on various topics and agency issuances.

Pictured are some of the guest speakers and Food Safety Summit committee members.

From left, Risk Management and Innovations Staff (RMIS) Staff Officer Sterling Brown; Enforcement, Investigations and Analysis Officer (EIAO) Arcenia Maves; RMIS Senior Food Technologist Dr. Meryl Silverman; EIAO Tiffiny Pierce; Des Moines District Manager Dr. Dawn Sprouls; Meat Lab Supervisor Jordan McCallum; UMN Associate Professor and Extension Meat Specialist Dr. Ryan Cox; EIAO Scott Paukner.

Not pictured: Supervisory EIAO Dr. Randall Kumpost, who worked with many of the above attendees to help organize the summit.

Photo by Supervisory EIAO Patrick Stillwell, OFO.

Brasilia, Brazil

On Sept. 12, as part of an onsite equivalence verification audit of Brazil’s food safety system, the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit’s (OIEA) International Audit Staff (IAS) held an audit entrance meeting with Brazil’s food safety authorities. The purpose of the Sept.12-30 audit was to verify that Brazil’s food safety system governing beef and pork products remains equivalent to that of the U.S., with the ability to export products that are safe, wholesome, unadulterated and properly labeled and packaged.

Attendees named below with no designated job title were with Brazil’s Department of Inspection for Products of Animal Origin (DIPOA) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA).

Pictured, from left: Jean Doughie; Lucio Kykushi; Paula Borges; Ligia Vermelho; Juliana Bressan; Fernanda Cunha; Ana Lucia Viana; Senior Program Auditors Dr. Amadou Samb and Chloe Dixon; IAS Director Dr. Juan Rodriguez; OIEA Assistant Administrator Robert Bane; Juliana Sathie; Daltro Vasconcelos; Douglas Haas; Altair Correa da Silverira; Barbara Rosa; and Matheus Wrublesk.

Photo courtesy of MAPA.

Lombard, Ill.

On Sept. 27, FSIS Administrator Paul Kiecker led morning and afternoon Work Unit Meetings at the Chicago District Office. Four brand new employees were there for onboarding. Kiecker discussed recruitment and retention, talked about the importance of education, and answered questions from the groups. Deputy District Managers (DDMs) William Cranford and Dr. Gary Welcher attended the morning meeting, DDM Dr. Tamara Davis attended in the afternoon, and District Manager Dr. Don Fickey attended both meetings.

The morning meeting attendees, pictured, standing, from left: Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) Enrique Cruz Ortiz; Cranford; Compliance Investigator Loretta Sliger; CSIs Katarzyna Piekos, Gregory Gebien, Renata Bochnak, Zaheen Ansari, Suzy Griffen, and Boguslawa Malinowska; Supervisory Enforcement, Investigations and Analysis Officer Dr. Kelsey Travis; CSIs Todd Buck, Jacqueline Oberle and Kenneth Pokryfke; Frontline Supervisor (FLS) Dr. Stephanie Glanz; CSI Ewa Pietryka; Resource Management Specialist (RMS) Ericka Warren; CSIs Vonda McClendon and Najveet Dhanoa; Food Inspector (FI) Gabriela Lozano; Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian (SPHV) Dr. Danielle Kolaczewski; FI Reed Newell; CSI Payton Auberry; Welcher; Fickey (face partially obscured); Kiecker.

Sitting, from left: FLS Dr. Faiz Agarib; District Case Specialist (DCS) David DeJaynes; CSIs Jaisline Olmeda-Rivera, Maria Cornejo, Lannie Bowman, Hector Bernal and Jeffrey Klingberg; Resource Manager Olivia Floyd; Resource Management Assistant Frank Flores; Resource Coordinator Dawn Bianco.

Not pictured: RMS Amanda Sadenwasser.

Photo by Chief of Staff Karen Hunter, OA.

The afternoon meeting attendees, pictured, standing, from left: CSIs Scott Elliott, Bobby Thomas, Anthony Vallone, David Jackson, Veronica Robinson and Suzana Stefanovska; FLS Dr. Mohsen Aly; Kiecker; CSI Mario Arechiga.

Sitting, from left: FLS D’Juan Jenkins; CSI Shannon Griffen; Fickey; CSIs Emmanuel Obulor, Anna Cruz and James Moore; Davis; CSI Constance Maxie; SPHV Dr. Khadim Awan.

Not pictured: FI (Imports) Lorraine Newland; CSIs Christine Cerda, Irene Kramer, Michael Yovonou, Ashton Mathis, Christina Rangel, Charlotte Andrews, Krystal Roseme, Kelly Hill, Martin Dynes, Tommy DeCrane,  Abdulhakeem Shaik, Reginald Garrison and Brandon Wilson.

Photo by Chief of Staff Karen Hunter, OA.

Pomona, Calif.

On Sept. 22, Enforcement, Investigation, and Analysis Officers Echo Li (pictured below: left) and Timothy Drake hosted an information table at a career fair at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (“Cal Poly”). They explained the mission of FSIS and job opportunities to the students. Many Cal Poly students from agricultural majors showed interest in joining FSIS.

Photo taken by event attendee.

Kansas City, Mo.

From Sept. 27-29, the Office of Investigations, Enforcement and Audit’s (OIEA) Compliance and Investigations Division (CID) held a meeting to reinforce and update supervisors on mission critical information related to surveillance, investigation and enforcement activities of regulated in-commerce meat, poultry and egg products facilities. Attendees received guidance on improving briefings, discussed enhancing reports of investigation preparation, and examined how to upgrade both investigative surveillance and evidentiary techniques.

Pictured, front row, from left: Acting OIEA Deputy Assistant Administrator Valerie Neris; Supervisory Investigator (SI) Lauren Behar; Northeast Regional Director Joseph Priore; SIs Wanda Fuentes and Craig Seletzky; Western Regional Director Sara Baucher; SIs Krishna Cabine and Mickey Mancini; Senior Compliance Specialist Will Gillingwater.

Middle row, from left: Deputy Regional Director Scott Ehle, Southwest Regional Director Shaun Smith, SI Nicholas Molinski, OIEA Assistant Administrator Robert Bane, CID Director Mark Crowe, SI Marshall Williams.

Back row, from left: Southeast Regional Director Larry Hortert; SIs Joseph Woltz, Larry Belk, Donald Russell and Adriana Perez.

Photo by hotel employee.

Washington, D.C.

On Oct. 5, Administrator Paul Kiecker attended the Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE) 25th Anniversary Celebration. PFSE is a group of government, industry and consumer leaders cooperating to promote safe food handling practices and reduce foodborne illness.

Pictured, from left: Kiecker, Jan Kiecker (Paul’s Wife), Public Affairs Specialist Meredith Carothers, Food Safety Education Staff Acting Director Jason Berry.

Photo by PFSE Community Engagement Manager Katie Weston.