Photo of Frank Yiannas

Frank Yiannas is the deputy commissioner for food policy and response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a position he assumed in December of 2018. He is the principal advisor to the FDA commissioner in the development and execution of policies related to food safety, including implementation of the landmark FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). His responsibilities include food safety priorities such as outbreak response, traceback investigations, product recall activities, and supply chain innovation. Before joining the FDA, Yiannas was vice president of food safety at Walmart. Yiannas is a past president of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and recipient of the 2007 NSF Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Food Safety. He is also the recipient of the Collaboration Award by FDA in 2008 and he was named the 2015 Industry Professional Food Safety Hero Award by STOP Foodborne Illness, a consumer advocacy group.

Yiannas also is a past vice-chairman of the Global Food Safety Initiative. He is an adjunct professor in the Food Safety Program at Michigan State University. In 2017 he received the university's Outstanding Faculty Award. A microbiologist, Yiannas received a bachelor's degree in microbiology from the University of Central Florida and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida.