Despite his comments at an October meeting of the Food Industry Codex Coalition, Thomas Billy does not have immediate plans to resign from his post as administrator of the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS).

Remarks by Billy apparently gave some Codex attendees the impression that he would not continue as FSIS chief next year. However, USDA spokesperson Beth Gaston said that Billy plans to keep the position for the foreseeable future. "Mr. Billy plans to run for re-election as chairman of the Codex Alimentarius Commission this July. Assuming he is elected, he said that he would like to transition to another position within USDA that would allow him more time on developing food safety regulations through the global Codex Alimentarius." Among other activities, Codex promotes the establishment of international consensus on food standards.