WASHINGTON — Secretary of Agriculture George E. (Sonny) Perdue announced Carmen Rottenberg will be the acting deputy undersecretary for food safety, and Paul Kiecker will be the acting administrator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (F.S.I.S.). Alfred Almanza, former administrator with F.S.I.S., retired from the agency July 31 after 39 years.
In her new role, Ms. Rottenberg will oversee development, implementation and enforcement of all F.S.I.S. regulations, policies and programs. Before her promotion, she spent six years in leadership roles within F.S.I.S., including as chief of staff, chief operating officer and, most recently, the deputy administrator of F.S.I.S.’ office of the administrator. Ms. Rottenberg joined F.S.I.S. in 2007 as an equal employment opportunity specialist.
Mr. Kiecker is a 29-year veteran of F.S.I.S. who has served in various roles at the agency. Most recently, he was deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Field Operations (O.F.O.). He also was executive associate for regulatory operations after serving as the district manager in Springdale, Ark., and Madison, Wis., as well as deputy district manager in Madison. His experience with F.S.I.S. also includes work with the Office of Investigation, Enforcement, and Audit (O.I.E.A.), where he was a compliance investigator and a supervisory compliance officer.
Mr. Kiecker has led coordination with other federal agencies, state and local governments, international organizations and other stakeholders. He also had oversight for strategic planning, policy formulation and implementation, budget development and execution, human resource management and daily inspection operations.
“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply is our most important responsibility, and it’s one we undertake with great seriousness,” Mr. Perdue said. “Both Carmen and Paul have dedicated their careers to the mission of food safety and I am pleased to have appointed them to these important roles within the U.S.D.A. I commend the work of the entire U.S.D.A.’s food safety team for painstakingly safeguarding the food we serve our families every single day.”
