Mindy Brashears

Mindy Brashears
Official portrait, 2019
5th and 7th Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 14, 2026[1]
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJose Emilio Esteban
In office
March 23, 2020[2][a] – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byElizabeth Hagen
Succeeded byJose Emilio Esteban
Personal details
BornMindy Malynn Hardcastle
(1970-05-13) May 13, 1970
Wheeler, Texas
PartyRepublican
SpouseM. Todd Brashears
EducationWheeler High School
Texas Tech University (BS)
Oklahoma State University (MS, PhD)

Mindy Brashears is the current Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.[1] She was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by a Senate vote on December 18, 2025.[4] Her responsibilities in this role include leading the nation's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and its team of over 10,000 food inspectors and scientists.

She had served previously in the same position from her Senate confirmation in March 23, 2020 to January 20, 2021, similarly nominated by Donald Trump during his first term.[2] During both terms, she chaired the U.S. Codex Alimentarius Steering Committee,[5] which made her the highest-ranking food safety official in the U.S. government during her first tenure.

Between her first and second terms at USDA, she returned to her role as professor of food microbiology and food safety at Texas Tech University where she was the director for the International Center for Food Industry Excellence.[6]

Early life and education

Brashears was born as Mindy Malynn Hardcastle in Wheeler, Texas. She grew up on a cattle and cotton farm, the daughter of Gary and Becky Hardcastle. Brashears graduated from Wheeler High School and went to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where she majored in Food Technology within the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. She attended school on scholarship from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Brashears graduated from Texas Tech in 1992, then attended graduate school at Oklahoma State University. There, she earned an M.S. (1994) and a Ph.D. (1997) in food science with an emphasis in food microbiology under the tutelage of Stan Gilliland.

Academic career

Brashears worked at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as the State Extension Food Safety Specialist from August 1997 until May 2001. From June 2001 until January 2019 she served as assistant professor, associate professor and professor of food safety at Texas Tech University. During her time at Texas Tech, she was also the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence as well as a faculty member for the Center for Biodefense, Law and Public Policy in the Texas Tech School of Law. She was a prolific researcher and author with over 130 research papers cited over 2,700 times resulting in an index of 37.2 on ResearchGate.[7]

In 2016, she was selected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Inventors. Her induction ceremony took place on April 6, 2017, as part of the NAI's sixth annual convention at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.[8]

Meat industry consulting

Before her nomination to the USDA in 2018, Brashears served as a paid consultant for major meat-producing companies subject to federal inspection and regulation, including Cargill and Perdue Farms.[9] After her departure in 2021, she accepted positions with Boar's Head Provision Company and the Meat Institute.[10] Some consumer and food safety advocates argued that Brashear's nomination posed issues related to conflict of interest.[11]

COVID-19 pandemic actions

The United States House Select Oversight Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a report in May 2022 detailing the relationship between the Trump administration and the meat packing industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the report, Brashear was described as the "go-to fixer" for the meat packing plants.[12] A meat packing lobbyist described a close relationship with Brashear, who was able to prevent local health departments from enforcing COVID-19 safety measures at plants.[13] The report described Brashear providing her personal phone number and email address to industry representatives, in violation of the Federal Records Act.[14]

Public life

In June 2017, Brashears provided expert testimony[15] in the case of Beef Products Inc. (BPI) versus American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., ABC News and other named individuals.[16] BPI's lawyer, Dan Webb contended that ABC's use of the phrase "pink slime" in 2012 made BPI lose customers.[17] During her testimony regarding the legal definition of "beef" she stated, "Slime is not beef. It does not meet any of the definitions of beef. It is false to call LFTB 'pink slime.' It is not 'pink slime."[18] ABC and BPI settled the case, reportedly for $177 million.[17]

Notes

  1. ^ She was made Deputy Under Secretary on January 28, 2019, making her the top person within the Food Safety and Inspection service without the full powers of the position of Under Secretary.[3] She was confirmed on March 23, 2020, but she was only sworn in on October 1, 2020.

References

  1. ^ a b "Constituent Update - January 16, 2026". Food Safety and Inspection Service. Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Cline, Megan (March 23, 2020). "Roberts Announces Senate Confirmation of USDA Nominee Brashears". The Senate Agriculture Committee. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. ^ "Perdue Selects Three Senior Leaders at USDA". USDA. January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  4. ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 1st Session". United States Senate. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  5. ^ Flynn, Dan (December 18, 2025). "Brashears is back at the USDA's top food safety post". Food Safety News. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  6. ^ Straehley, Steve; Wallechinsky, David. "Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety: Who Is Mindy Brashears?". ALLGOV. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  7. ^ "Mindy Brashears". ResearchGate. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  8. ^ "Brashears Chosen as Fellow for the National Academy of Inventors". Everything Lubbock. December 13, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  9. ^ Collins, Christopher (September 11, 2018). "Documents Show Financial Entanglements Between Trump's USDA Pick and Agribusiness". Texas Observer. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  10. ^ Held, Lisa (October 7, 2025). "The Industry Ties Within Trump's Food and Ag Leadership". Civil Eats. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  11. ^ Collins, Christopher (March 25, 2020). "The New U.S. Food Safety Czar is a Texas Researcher with Close Ties to the Meat Industry". Texas Observer. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  12. ^ Qiu, Linda (May 12, 2022). "Meatpackers Misled Public and Influenced Trump Administration During Covid, Report Says". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  13. ^ Lakhani, Nina (May 12, 2022). "Trump officials and meat industry blocked life-saving Covid controls, investigation finds". The Guardian. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  14. ^ "NOW TO GET RID OF THOSE PESKY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS!" How the Trump Administration Helped the Meatpacking Industry Block Pandemic Worker Protections (PDF) (Report). May 2022. p. 12. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  15. ^ Keller and Heckman. "Lean Finely Textured Beef Litigation – BPI's Defamation Lawsuit Against ABC News Heats Up". The National Law Review. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  16. ^ "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA SOUTHERN DIVISION" (PDF). Justia US Law. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "ABC settled 'pink slime' lawsuit for $177 million, leaving the beef company feeling 'vindicated'". Business Insider. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "BPI vs. ABC trial: Dr. Mindy Brashears testifies about use of "pink slime," other terminology". The National Provisioner. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
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