Mindy Brashears, the USDA’s deputy undersecretary for food safety, will come to Happy Valley to speak at the Penn State Department of Food Sciences’ seminar at 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 6 in room 252 of the Food Sciences Building, according to a release.

Brashears will give her presentation, which is titled “2020 Vision: Focus on the Future,” which will be preceded by a meet-and-greet in Keeney Commons, located in the Food Science Building, from 3 to 4 p.m.

Brashears, who was a professor of food safety and public health and director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University, has an extensive background in food safety. Her work at Texas Tech dealt with antimicrobial drug resistance for animals, as well as pre- and post-harvest environmental intervention. During her teaching years, she taught food microbiology and food safety courses

She also drove international research efforts in Central and South America during her time at Texas Tech. The goals of that research included tackling food insecurity and lack of food safety along with implementing sustainable agriculture.