Director Named for FDA Food Safety Center

Commissioner of Food and Drugs Andrew C. von Eschenbach named Stephen Sundlof director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) effective Jan. 7, according to the agency. Sundlof had been director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM).

For over a decade, Dr. Sundlof has served as the director of CVM. In that capacity, with his background as a toxicologist, he has overseen the regulation of feed, including food additives and drugs intended for animals. These include animals from which human foods are derived, as well as food and drugs for pets (or companion animals) and other non-food-producing animals such as zoo animals, parakeets, hamsters, and aquarium fish.

Sundlof has extensive experience in the food safety and protection arena, including service on numerous domestic and international committees on food safety, where he served as chairman and led the development of new international policies and safety standards. He also provided significant input into the development of the FDA’s Food Protection Plan issued in November 2007, a strategic and comprehensive approach to improve food safety and defense in the United States. He was instrumental in putting in place robust animal feed programs to prevent Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also called mad cow disease, from entering the U.S. feed system. There have been no cases of mad cow disease in the United States resulting from a failure of the feed system. This depth and breadth of experience makes him well suited to serve as director of CFSAN.

Prior to joining FDA, Sundlof served on the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida, where he held the rank of professor of toxicology. He also has received many honors and awards as a leader in his field and has authored several scientific and technical papers. Since 1994 he has served as chairman of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods.