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December 2, 2003
FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., has announced the retirement of Joseph A. Levitt, Esq., as Director of FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), and the appointment of Dr. Robert E. Brackett as his successor.
"As a staff attorney, Commissioner's chief of staff, deputy center director, and center director, Joe has clearly had a unique and lasting impact on the health of Americans," said Dr. McClellan. "With a career-long commitment to improving America's health and strengthening FDA, Joe leaves our food and nutrition center as a world class organization, ready to meet the challenges ahead."
Levitt's tenure as center director at CFSAN was marked by continuing productivity increases, as a result of innovative and clear management and a rigorous process for setting and achieving priorities. Since 1998, CFSAN has strengthened its capacity to carry out its mission by recruiting a cadre of scientific and regulatory experts.
Dr. Brackett was recruited to FDA in 2000 and has been crucial to strengthening CFSAN's scientific expertise in food safety and counter-terrorism. "As our food and nutrition center faces more challenges and responsibilities than ever -- as well as better science to meet them -- FDA is indeed fortunate to be able to call upon Dr. Bob Brackett," Dr. McClellan added. "As CFSAN's Director of Food Safety and Security, and with a distinguished background in food microbiology, Bob is the ideal leader to make sure that the safety and security of the U.S. food supply sets the standard for the world."
Mr. Levitt will become a partner in the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, LLP. His last day at FDA will be December 31, 2003. Dr. Brackett will assume his new duties January 1, 2004. The full press release is on FDA's web site at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fpmgmt.html.
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Food Safety and Security Staff E-mail: |
Office Number: (301) 436-2277· FAX (301) 436-2605 CFSAN Web site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/ |
