Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler will play host to U.S. Reps. Walter Jones and Bob Etheridge and staff members from North Carolina’s other congressional offices at the third annual “AgFIRST!” forum. The event, titled “The Changing Landscape of Food Safety in North Carolina,” will focus on efforts by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to protect the food supply.

Department personnel will inform the congressional members and staff about their work to protect humans and animals from contaminated food products. Topics will include the risks associated with global sources of foods. Presentations also will detail department responses to recent food safety incidents, including botulism in canned foods, illegal antibiotics in seafood and chemicals in animal feed.

In the past year, stories about food borne illnesses and contaminated food products have filled newspapers and newscasts across America. Food safety is vital to public health and the economy in North Carolina, where agriculture and agribusiness are responsible for $66 billion in economic impact.

The United States imports more food than it exports. Differing regulatory and sanitation practices for food production and preparation around the world have led to problems in this country.