Dr. Donald A. Prater is Acting Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. From February – May 2023 he served as Acting Director of the FDA’s Office of Food Policy and Response. Since 2019, he has been the Associate Commissioner for Imported Food Safety in OFPR, providing direction to and management of imported food safety programs. In addition, he served as a senior scientific advisor and technical expert on matters related to human and animal food safety and the implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

Before joining OFPR, Dr. Prater was the Assistant Commissioner for Food Safety Integration, serving as the principal spokesperson on behalf of the 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. Earlier in his FDA tenure, Dr. Prater was Director of the FDA’s Europe Office in Brussels, Belgium and the Department of Health and Human Services 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 the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in 1999 as a Veterinary Medical Officer. There he served in several roles including leader of the Aquaculture Drugs Team, CVM Pathologist, and Director of the Division of Scientific Support.

Resources for You

• FDA Leadership Profiles
• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition