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Curtis Appointed to USDA Food Safety Advisory Committee

A woman leaning against a wall, looking away

The USDA has appointed NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Patricia Curtis to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI).

“Dr. Curtis’s selection is a tremendous honor for her, the Prestage Department of Poultry Science and NC State University,” said CALS Dean Richard Linton. “This advisory committee is made up of academic and industry experts, the ‘best of the best’ across the nation, to tackle the big challenges impacting our meat and poultry industry. We are proud of Dr. Curtis and her work to support the largest segment of the state’s largest industry – animal agriculture.” 

NACMPI was established in 1971 by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) The committee advises on food safety concerns and inspection program activities, including food safety policies that will contribute to the USDA’s regulatory policy development. 

Curtis said she is honored to be a part of this committee.“It’s a very big honor to be on the committee because it’s a very small group. There’s less than 20 people on the committee ranging from industry, consumer and academia.,” Curtis said. 

The committee’s goal is to incorporate scientific methods to determine best safety practices and use research and research implementation to prove food and safety interventions are working.  

Background and Expertise

Curtis first joined NC State in 1991 as an assistant professor and extension specialist for the Department of Food Science, now the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. She became the director of Auburn University’s Poultry Product Safety and Quality Peak of Excellence Program in 2002 and eventually the director of the university’s Food Systems Institute.

Curtis returned to NC State in 2017 as head of the Prestage Department of Poultry Science, sharing a wealth of knowledge and expertise with her students and colleagues.

Curtis was nominated by the North Carolina Poultry Federation. She previously served on the committee when she was at Auburn.

This post was originally published in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News.