WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this week that Dr. Karen Hulebak, a chief scientist with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Servcie (FSIS) has been elected to serve a two-year term as chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).

The CAC is an international food standards organization. The announcement was made in Geneva, Switzerland during the CAC’s 31st Session.

"We are pleased that Dr. Hulebak was elected to this important position," said USDA Secretary Ed Schafer. "With a distinguished career in food science and food safety and a long association with Codex, I cannot think of a better choice to lead the organization."

Hulebak has previously served as CAC’s vice chairperson and chairperson of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene.

Hulebak received her doctorate in toxicology from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in 1983, and was a postdoctoral research fellow in pharmacology at the University of North Carolina Biomedical Research Center. She received her bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture