FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 19, 2009

Troxler taps Ragan to lead Food and Drug Protection

RALEIGH — Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler has named Dan Ragan director of the Food and Drug Protection Division at the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, effective Sept. 1.

Ragan, a registered pharmacist, currently is assistant director of the division. He will succeed Joe Reardon, who is retiring from the department to become deputy director of federal-state relations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“Dan Ragan has an extensive background in regulatory affairs, and he will help us continue to build our nationally renowned food and drug protection program,” Troxler said.

Ragan has been assistant director of food and drug protection since January. Before that, he was administrator of the division’s drug regulation program.

Before joining the department, Ragan worked as a pharmacist and consultant in the private sector and for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. He holds a pharmacy degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in animal science from N.C. State University.