Florida Sea Grant Seafood Academy

Join Florida Sea Grant on February 1 for a free, one-day event to learn about the pressing and emerging regulations and research and development activities for sustainable seafood production.

Seafood Academy, hosted by Florida Sea Grant UF/IFAS Extension Seafood Specialist Dr. Razieh Farzad, is primarily intended for seafood processors, as well as fisheries, aquaculture, and family and consumer sciences extension agents. Topics will include but are not limited to preparing for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s food traceability rule, cell-based seafood production and more!

Seafood Academy attendees can participate in-person or online via Zoom. The in-person event will be held in Room 3305 at the University of Florida’s Reitz Student Union, located at 655 Reitz Union Dr. in Gainesville, Florida.

For questions, please contact Dr. Farzad at rfarzad@ufl.edu.

For those attending in-person, Dr. Farzad will also be teaching an in-person Basic Seafood HACCP Segment II training at the University of Florida on January 31, prior to Seafood Academy.

Meet The Keynote:

Donald A. Prater, DVM
Associate Commissioner for Imported Food Safety
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Office of Food Policy and Response (OFPR)
Silver Spring, Maryland
donald.prater@fda.hhs.gov

Dr. Donald A. Prater is the Associate Commissioner for Imported Food Safety.  In his current capacity, reporting to the Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response (FPR), he serves as a member of OFPR’s executive leadership team providing direction and management to all imported food safety programs under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Commissioner FPR.  In addition, he serves as a senior scientific advisor and technical expert, supporting the Deputy Commissioner FPR on matters related to human and animal food safety and the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply.

Previously, Dr. Prater was the Assistant Commissioner for Food Safety Integration serving as the principal spokesperson on behalf of FDA’s Foods and Veterinary Medicine Program for imports discussions with external stakeholders, including foreign governments, as well as being responsible for import-related strategic resource planning activities.  During his FDA tenure, Dr. Prater was Director of FDA’s Europe Office in Brussels, Belgium and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Country Representative to the European Union.

Dr. Prater received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (Government and Corporate track) in 1996.  Following a three-year residency in anatomic pathology, he joined FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in 1999 as a Veterinary Medical Officer.  He served in several roles including Leader of the Aquaculture Drugs Team, CVM Pathologist, and Director of the Division of Scientific Support.