Susan Mayne, the director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, has announced her retirement, effective May 31. Mayne has led CFSAN for more than eight years and was a featured speaker at many of PLMA’s annual Washington Conferences.
As director of CFSAN, she worked to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), oversaw labeling reforms, and spearheaded the use of new science at FDA through actions including standardizing whole genome sequencing for food safety issues and the first no questions letters for cultivated meat companies.
In a note from Mayne distributed by CFSAN and shared by FDA staff, she noted she has been eligible for retirement since 2021. She says that she strongly supports FDA Commissioner Robert Califf’s efforts to overhaul the Human Foods program, and that helped her time her retirement.
Mayne’s retirement could indicate major changes at the agency. Her means there will be vacancies in leadership at both of the major divisions that deal with food. Former Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas resigned in February.
She has overseen major changed in food labeling and other issues since she was appointed. Nutrition Facts labeling got its first update in more than two decades. New limits were established for potentially harmful substances like arsenic in food for infants and toddlers. Most recently, the FDA has announced it is looking into regulating the definition of ‘healthy’ on food labels. No announcement has been made of her replacement.