Reinventing the programmatic and legal basis of food safety: The Wyoming experience

On March 13, 2000, the governor of Wyoming signed into law a comprehensive farm-to-table food safety statute. The new law collected all food safety requirements into a single statute and consolidated food inspection activities in the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. A sweeping reform of state food safety programs eliminated the cumbersome patchwork of laws that legislators had been amending for a century. To accomplish this formidable task, Governor Jim Geringer had authorized the formation of the Wyoming Food Safety Task force in 1997. The task farce comprised local, state, and federal government agencies; legislators; the University of Wyoming; and segments of private industry. Using a strategic-planning process to build consensus, the task force developed a new system that was unanimously supported. This unified approach contributed to the success of the legislative effort.