Photos courtesy usda.gov and LinkedIn, respectively
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a slate of presidential appointments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on July 3, including adding Justin Ransom, Ph.D., as administrator of the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and naming Denise Eblen, Ph.D., as deputy administrator.
Ransom brings more than two decades of strategic leadership responsibilities in food safety, quality systems, animal welfare and sustainability, said USDA. His experience spans major food system organizations, including Tyson Foods, McDonald’s and OSI Group. He began his career at the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, where he developed technical standards for the National School Lunch Program, instrument grading systems and trade facilitation.
Ransom will assume the position July 14, succeeding Eblen, who had held the role since December 2024. Eblen will continue to serve in the Office of the Administrator as deputy administrator. The two will work together to modernize the agency and advance its efforts to ensure a safe and abundant food supply, FSIS said in a constituent update.
As administrator, Eblen advanced FSIS’ science-based decision-making to modernize the agency’s inspection strategies, policies and approaches to improve public health, said USDA. Prior to this, she served as assistant administrator of FSIS’ Office of Public Health Science (OPHS), where she provided expertise in scientific analysis and oversight of FSIS laboratories and testing of regulatory samples, risk assessment and outbreak investigation and response.
Eblen holds a doctorate degree in food safety microbiology from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, a master’s degree in food science from Queen’s University Belfast and a bachelor’s degree in human nutrition from the University of Ulster at Coleraine in Northern Ireland.
“USDA is doing incredible work to put farmers first all across the nation,” said Rollins. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are rolling back regulations, expanding market access and uplifting rural America. I welcome our latest presidential appointees to the people’s department and look forward to continuing our fight to put farmers first.”