Richard Allen Raymond

Richard Allen Raymond is the incumbent Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety. His nomination was announced and sent to the Senate on May 26, 2005. He was confirmed on July 1 and appointed on July 18. [cite web | title="Presidential Nomination: Richard Allen Raymond" | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/nominations/1253.html | accessdate= September 20 | accessyear= 2007 ] cite web | title="Dr. Richard Raymond Bios" | url=http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.retrievecontent/.c/6_2_1UH/.ce/7_2_5JM/.p/5_2_4TQ/.d/0/_th/J_2_9D/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?PC_7_2_5JM_contentid=bios_raymond.xml#7_2_5JM | accessdate= September 20 | accessyear= 2007 ]

Education and career

Before joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Richard Raymond was director of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Regulation & Licensure division where he oversaw regulatory programs involving health care and environmental issues. He had been appointed to the position on October 16, 2004 by then-Nebraska governor Mike Johanns. He was also Nebraska's Chief Medical Officer; he had been appointed to that position in January 1999. Raymond graduated from Hastings College and earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. For 17 years, he practiced medicine in rural Nebraska. [cite news|title=USDA|publisher="Food & Drink Weekly"|date=May 9, 2005|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EUY/is_17_11/ai_n13829909]

There, he established and directed a community-based Family Practice Residency for Clarkson Medical Center. He served as president of the Nebraska Medical Association, chaired Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns' Blue Ribbon Panel on Infant Mortality, and served on numerous state committees related to public health. He was also president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and has been a member of the association's Preparedness Committee for three years.

Under Secretary for Food Safety

In November 2005, Richard Raymond was interviewed by the "Washington Post", which had christened him the "germ czar," on the subject of Thanksgiving food safety. [cite news|first=Candy|last=Sagon|title=Cook and Eat Safely|publisher="The Washington Post"|date=November 20, 2005|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/18/AR2005111801305.html] In May 2006, he appeared in television and radio advertisements seeking to ease concerns about the bird flu, saying, "It's important for you to know that it’s safe to eat poultry, even if bird flu is detected here sometime in the future." [cite news|coauthors="Associated Press"|title=New TV, radio ads aim to ease bird flu fears|publisher="MSNBC.com"|date=May 4, 2006|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12634865/] In October 2006, he criticized the idea of combining multiple agencies into a single agency responsible for food safety as an "unnecessary solution." [cite news|first=Libby|last=Quaid|coauthors="Associated Press"|title=Official Abhors Food Safety Agency Idea|publisher="The Washington Post"|date=October 11, 2006|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101336_pf.html]

In December 2006, he disputed a report by "Consumer Reports" in which 83% of chickens they tested were infected with campylobacter and/or salmonella bacteria, noting that the sample of 500 chickens tested was "very small." [cite news|title=Turn up the heat: Consumer Reports finds 83% of chickens infected |publisher="Chicago Sun-Times"|date=December 10, 2006|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20061210/ai_n16901997] In February 2007, Richard Raymond ordered stepped-up inspections at some meat and poultry plants where the threat of E. coli is high or past visits found unsafe practices. [cite news|title=More USDA scrutiny at riskier meat plants|publisher="Chicago Sun-Times"|date=February 23, 2007|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EUY/is_17_11/ai_n13829909] On the subject of China's banning of pork containing ractopamine, he said that he hoped Beijing could change its stance if the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international food safety body, could endorse tolerance levels for it. [cite news|title=China rejects pork imports from U.S., Canada|publisher="Reuters"|date=September 17, 2007|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSPEK4981120070917]

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