An indication for the Food and Drug Administration is seen exterior of the headquarters on July 20, 2020 in White Oak, Maryland.
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Frank Yiannas, a high official on the Food and Drug Administration answerable for the company’s meals coverage and response workplace, introduced Wednesday that he’s stepping down from his function as deputy commissioner.
Yiannas was among the many FDA officers main the company because it navigated its method by way of final yr’s toddler components scarcity after Abbott Laboratories voluntarily shut down manufacturing on the nation’s largest components manufacturing unit following experiences that infants who consumed components from the plant obtained sick.
His resignation comes days after Abbott Laboratories confirmed that the Justice Department was investigating the corporate over its Michigan child components plant.
“Today, I informed Commissioner [Robert] Califf that I will be resigning my position as Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Food Policy and Response effective February 24 ,” Yiannas tweeted. “I am honored to have served the American public, alongside each and every one of you, over these past four years.”
Since December of 2018, Yiannas has been concerned within the improvement and rollout of insurance policies associated to meals security, together with response to outbreaks, tracing foodborne sickness investigations, product remembers and provide chain innovation.
Yiannas’ resignation announcement comes weeks after an professional panel issued a scathing report on its investigation of the FDA’s processes and organizational construction for its meals program. The panel criticized, amongst different issues, a “culture, structure, and governance model” that detracts from this system’s effectiveness.
That investigation, was ordered by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in July, following rising criticism that the company had mishandled the components disaster after diseases had been reported.
Yiannas’ resignation letter, obtained by the Washington Post, referenced inheriting a “decentralized structure” on the company’s meals program he operated, which he stated “significantly impaired FDA’s ability to operate as an integrated food team and protect the public.”
NBC News has reached out to Yiannas for remark.
In an announcement, the FDA lauded Yiannas for his service on the company’s management crew, saying his efforts to deal with key initiatives helped “create a safer and more digital, traceable food system for our country.”
“The FDA remains committed to providing an update on steps to strengthen the Human Foods Program at the end of January and additional updates on the organizational structure, including how responsibilities of Mr. Yiannas’ position will be handled moving forward, by the end of February,” an FDA spokesperson stated in an announcement.