Communications
Her family, who still grows wheat, barley, beans, corn and sunflowers, had a tradition of volunteering with organizations such as the General Federated Women’s Club, which helped promote and establish the nation’s first food safety laws that eventually became the Food and Drug Administration.
Claudia will wrap up a 35-year career with WSDA at the end of December, all of it dedicated to protecting our food supply and the public’s health.
Washington becomes home
When she arrived in Seattle in 1982, she planned to return to the Midwest to pursue graduate studies in food science in Minnesota. But courses at the University of Washington and a student job as a lab tech for WSDA led to a full-time position and her destiny.
One opportunity led to another and then another. She became a food safety officer in 1990 when the agency’s food and dairy programs merged to become the Food Safety Program. She was promoted to supervisor and then served as program manager for 11 years, beginning in 2000.
She went on to lead the Office of Compliance and Outreach. Since 2015, she has been the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division’s policy and external affairs adviser.
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| Claudia giving an educational presentation. |
One responsibility of her current role is as the division’s subject matter expert providing strategic direction on implementation of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act, the groundbreaking legislation reforming the nation’s food safety system.
Claudia has seen many changes in her storied career.
“WSDA did not have a great reputation in the public health inspection area when I first started in the early 1980s,” she recalled. “With the blended food safety program and focus on public health and regulatory compliance, the agency has since become nationally recognized for our food safety and public health work.”
Making a mark
Claudia’s many career highlights have contributed to that turnaround.
For instance, she was instrumental in securing FDA cooperative agreements for the Rapid Response Team, Manufactured Food Regulatory Standards, Recall Coordination and ISO Accreditation for our microbiology lab.
She remembers investigating an illegal raw milk operation that caused at least 15 people, mostly children, to become ill from E coli. Investigators connected the peoples’ pathogens to environmental samples collected at the farm.
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| Claudia with Gov. Jay Inslee outside the Governor's Mansion. |
“These findings led to legislative changes strengthening state law for raw milk requirements, as well as agency penalty action and federal court action against the farm operation for violating interstate transportation of raw milk,” Claudia said.
Among the recognition she has received, Claudia cites the FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation Award as one she is most proud of.
Another highlight was the opportunity to travel to Finland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia soon after the Soviet Union broke apart while she was a member of the Ag Forestry Leadership Program’s Class 14.
What’s next?
But wait – Claudia is not done yet! For her next act, she will take on a new role as president of the Seattle-based Seafood Products Association (SPA), which represents member companies on technical and regulatory issues aimed at safe, quality and legal manufactured food production.
Claudia’s many WSDA colleagues will miss her, but can be assured that she will continue to work for the safety of our food supply. Thanks Claudia!
In summary: Claudia Coles departs a long, accomplished career with the Food Safety and Consumer Services Division, retiring from state service at the end of December. What’s next for Claudia? Read her profile on the Insider employee blog.
