Constituent Update - May 8, 2026

Constituent Update - May 8, 2026

Dr. Christine Alvarado Joins Office of Food Safety

Dr. Christine Alvarado rejoins the agency after serving as a Technical Subject Matter Expert in the Office of Policy and Program Development from 2017 to 2018. In that role, she helped develop regulatory policy on meat, poultry, and egg inspection and worked to improve HACCP guidance for industry. She returns with a fuller portfolio.

Since leaving FSIS, Alvarado spent several years as a Senior Food Scientist at Prosur, a clean-label ingredient solutions company. Before that, she held faculty positions at Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M University, conducting applied research on poultry processing and further processing to improve quality, efficiency, and food safety outcomes for the industry.

Alvarado earned her B.S. in Biomedical Science and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science from the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M. She is a Fellow of the Poultry Science Association - one of the organization's highest honors - and has spent the better part of 20 years mentoring students and teaching industry courses.

In her new role, she will advise on food safety policy development within the Office of Food Safety. FSIS is glad to have her back.

Stakeholder Engagement

On May 5, Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Mindy Brashears opened the 2026 ARS-FSIS Food Safety Workshop, joining Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Dr. Scott Hutchins to signal the priority both USDA mission areas place on this collaboration.

The virtual workshop, which ran through May 7, fulfills a congressional mandate and brings FSIS leaders and scientists together with Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers to align on food safety priorities.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Brashears emphasized that ARS research directly supports FSIS policy and produces data with real public health value. She highlighted the need to advance rapid detection and quantification of highly pathogenic Salmonella strains and called for better data to inform new policies that modernize and standardize FSIS' approach to food safety.

On May 5, Administrator Dr. Justin Ransom provided a regulatory update at the National Turkey Federation (NTF) Technical and Regulatory Committee Meeting in Washington, D.C., highlighting our food safety strategy with a focus on next steps for Salmonella policy.

Later the same day, Administrator Ransom provided an update on meat and poultry imports at the Meat Import Council of America (MICA) Board of Directors Roundtable in Washington, DC., with an emphasis on import modernization, import inspection staffing, and enhancements to the Public Health Information System.

A Safe Mother's Day Starts in the Kitchen

Mother's Day brunch is a chance to gather, celebrate, and share favorite family dishes. A little food safety planning can help keep the focus on the memories, not foodborne illness.

USDA's latest blog, "A Safer Way to Host Mother's Day Brunch," shares practical easy-to-follow tips for preparing and serving our brunch favorites safely. It includes reminders about safe timing and temperatures and how to prevent cross-contamination.

Have a safe and enjoyable Mother's Day weekend!

Available for Public Comment

FSIS seeks public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage. FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:

• Until May 11: Notice of Request To Renew an Approved Information Collection: Nutrition Labeling of Major Cuts of Single-Ingredient Raw Meat or Poultry Products and Ground or Chopped Meat and Poultry Products
• Until May 18: Notice of Request To Renew an Approved Information Collection: Public Health Information System: Public Health Information System (PHIS)
• Until May 19: Notice of Request To Renew an Approved Information Collection: Procedures for the Notification of New Technology and Requests for Waivers
• Until May 22: Notice of Request to Renew an Approved Information Collection: Voluntary Destruction of Imported Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products
• Until May 26: Notice of Request To Renew an Approved Information Collection: Laboratory Assessment Requests
• Until June 1: Notice of Request To Revise an Approved Information Collection: State Meat and Poultry Inspection Systems
• Until June 2: Notice of Request To Renew an Approved Information Collection: New Poultry Inspection System
• Until July 6: Availability of Revised Food Safety Guideline for Egg Products

Policy Update

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available on the FSIS Policy webpage. The following policy update was recently issued:

FSIS Notice 19-26: Cancellation of FSIS Directives

FSIS Notice 20-26: Availability of FSIS Food Safety Guidance for Egg Products Plants

Export Requirements Update

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:

FSIS:

• Mexico
• Namibia
• Egypt
• Canada
• United Kingdom

APHIS:

• Canada
• Mexico
• Azerbaijan
• Turkey
• Taiwan
• South Africa

Complete information for FSIS products can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.

Complete information for APHIS products can be found at Export Restrictions on U.S. Animal Products for Human Consumption website. Select the countries listed above from the drop down menu for complete information.