U.S – Kevin Smith, senior advisor for food safety at the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) is the 2021 recipient of the Walter F. Snyder Environmental Health Award.
Smith will receive the award on July 15 at the virtual 2021 NEHA Annual Education Conference, as announced by National Science Foundation (NSF) International, an independent agency of the U.S government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering ,and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) announced this week that.
“Kevin’s lifelong career has been steeped in his service and commitment to the improvement of health for all. His monumental work in creating national food regulatory standards and food safety practices has ensured the health and safety of consumers across the nation,” said Kevan Lawlor, president and CEO at NSF International.
The senior advisor has played a fundamental role in the development, delivery and advancement of national standards that guide regulatory program implementation and set the bar for the design and performance of equipment related to food protection and environmental health.
“His monumental work in creating national food regulatory standards and food safety practices has ensured the health and safety of consumers across the nation,“
Kevan Lawlor, president and CEO at NSF International.
He was instrumental to the development and implementation of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) and the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS), which are used by local and state food safety agencies to develop consistent and sustained regulatory programs of excellence.
At CFSAN, Smith advanced FDA retail food risk factor studies and was a primary contributor to FDA’s “Report on the Occurrence of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors” — a series reports that elevated the objective examination of food safety practices in retail and foodservice operations and set the stage for follow-up studies that have transformed the areas of food safety auditing and inspection for the better, NDF International said.
Quality assurance magazine notes that in his current role at FDA, Smith advises leadership on strategic initiatives and program development, leading nationwide efforts to combat food waste, promote food recovery and protect food from contamination during transport.
His efforts to promote safe food donation and the standardization of date labels on packaged foods benefit food donors and food recovery organizations.
His collaboration with experts in food safety, environmental engineering, epidemiology, laboratory analysis and public health has helped to create a more integrated food safety system and promote comprehensive food safety reform.
Smith played an active role in FDA’s investigation into the incidence of foodborne illnesses linked to commercial food equipment such as deli slicers and soft serve dispensing freezers.
He was instrumental in developing changes to consensus American National standards for equipment construction, which proved critical in preventing foodborne illnesses and ensured compliance with the FDA Food Code.
