WASHINGTON — Elisabeth Hagen has been nominated as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Under Secretary for Food Safety.
Hagen will serve with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The food safety mission of USDA includes the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which is the public health agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe and correctly labeled and packaged.
Hagen is currently the USDA’s chief medical officer, serving as an adviser to USDA mission areas on a wide range of human health issues.
Prior to her current post, she was a senior executive at FSIS, where she played a key role in developing and executing the agency’s scientific and public health agendas.
Before joining the federal government in 2006, Hagen taught and practiced medicine in both the private and academic sectors, most recently in Washington.
She holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and completed her specialty medical training at the University of Texas Southwestern and the University of Pennsylvania, and is board certified in infectious disease.
