The U.S. Senate confirmed in July the nominations of Lester M. Crawford, DVM, PhD as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and Richard Raymond, MD as USDA’s Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety.
Dr. Crawford is the first veterinarian to serve as FDA Commissioner. He was Acting FDA Commissioner since March 2004 and formerly headed FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Crawford also served as the Administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The FDA’s mission is to protect the public health by assuring the safety of human and veterinary drugs, medical devices, cosmetics and the nation’s food supply.
Dr. Raymond brings broad insight and expertise as Nebraska’s chief medical officer to his role safeguarding meat, poultry, and egg products at USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Dr. Raymond practiced family medicine in Nebraska for 17 years. In 1999 he was appointed by then Governor Mike Johanns as the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health and Human Services. After September 11, 2001, Dr. Raymond was asked by Governor Johanns to lead Nebraska’s bioterrorism preparedness and response planning.
