Rita Kishore
Associate
Rita brings approximately 30 years of leadership experience in food safety, regulatory affairs, international equivalence, residue chemistry, Codex Alimentarius, and USDA/FSIS regulatory standards.
Rita is a food safety and regulatory affairs expert with approximately 30 years of leadership experience spanning the federal government, international trade, and global consulting. Her areas of expertise include FSIS/USDA regulatory standards, international food safety equivalence audits, technical trade negotiations, Codex Alimentarius, residue chemistry, interagency testing programs, and training for foreign government officials.
Rita began her career with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in 1992 as a chemist. During her tenure with FSIS, she held several leadership and technical positions and was recognized as the agency’s subject matter expert in residue chemistry. In this role, she was responsible for planning, designing, managing, and executing the U.S. National Residue Program for meat, poultry, and egg products.
Rita also served as an international food safety expert, specializing in the evaluation of foreign food safety systems for U.S. equivalence and HACCP compliance. Her work included reviewing regulatory frameworks, inspection systems, technical documentation, and food safety controls for countries eligible to export FSIS-regulated products to the United States. She led and conducted in-country audits of foreign analytical laboratories, assessing technical competency, quality systems, and continued equivalence with U.S. regulatory standards.
In addition to her technical and audit responsibilities, Rita served as a principal technical expert in high-level negotiations with foreign governments regarding export requirements for FSIS-regulated products. Her work supported market access for U.S. meat, poultry, and egg product exports. She also designed, delivered, and led international training programs, including food safety equivalence and inspection seminars for foreign government officials and laboratory training programs for international technical staff.
As Deputy Manager of the U.S. Codex Office, Rita worked with U.S. and international stakeholders to advance science-based food safety standards, protect consumer health, and support fair practices in global food trade.
After retiring from USDA, Rita served as Codex Coordinator for the Food and Agriculture Export Alliance. In this role, she supported the implementation of the organization’s Codex Alimentarius strategy and provided technical expertise to help advance U.S. priorities in international standard setting and trade facilitation. She has also served as a technical expert in national and international food safety forums, providing scientific and regulatory insight to strengthen global alignment and market access.
Rita continues to support food safety and regulatory compliance as a consultant, working with countries to enhance their understanding of U.S. food safety standards, residue control requirements, and regulatory expectations for export eligibility. Her consulting work has included reviewing residue programs and laboratories, conducting training, and developing written guidance for the implementation of analytical laboratory methods to support scientific validity, regulatory compliance, and continued equivalence with the U.S. system.
