Food Freedom Act.

WORKING DRAFT
2013
STATE OF
WYOMING
13LSO-0135.E1

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0108

Food Freedom Act.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Wallis, Blake, Jaggi, Kroeker and Winters and Senator(s) Hicks

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to agriculture; creating the Wyoming Food Freedom Act; exempting certain sales from licensure, certification and inspection; providing definitions; providing conforming amendments;
providing rulemaking authority; providing for severability;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 11
‑
49
‑
101 through 11
‑
49
‑
10
4
are created to read:

CHAPTER 49
WYOMING FOOD FREEDOM ACT

11
‑
49
‑
101.

Short title.

This article is known and may be cited as the "Wyoming Food Freedom Act."

11
‑
49
‑
102.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this article:

(i)

"Delivery" means the transfer of a product resulting from a transaction between a producer, or by the producer's designated agent, and an informed end consumer. The delivery may occur at a farm, ranch, farmers market, home, office or any location agreed to between the producer and the informed end consumer;

(ii)

"Farmers market" means as defined in W.S. 35
‑
7
‑
110(a)(xxviii);

(iii)

"Home consumption" means consumed within a private home
, or food from a private home that is only consumed by family members, employees or nonpaying guests
;

(iv)

"Homemade" means food that is prepared in a private home kitchen,
which kitchen
is not licensed, inspected or regulated;

(v)

"Informed end consumer" means a person who is the last person to purchase any product, who does not resell the product and who has been informed that the product is not licensed, regulated or inspected;

(vi)

"Producer" means any person who harvests any product of the soil or animals for food or drink;

(vii)

"Transaction" means the exchange of buying and selling.

11
‑
49
‑
103.

Wyoming Food Freedom Act; purpose; exemptions; assumption of risk.

(a)

The purpose of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act is to allow for the sale and consumption of homemade foods and to encourage the expansion of agricultural sales by farmers markets, ranches, farms and home based producers and accessibility of the same to informed end consumers by:

(i)

Facilitating the purchase and consumption of fresh and local agricultural products;

(ii)

Enhancing the agricultural economy;

(iii)

Providing Wyoming citizens with unimpeded access to healthy food from known sources.

(b)

Except as provided by W.S. 11
‑
49
‑
104 and n
otwithstanding any other provisions of law, there shall be no licensure, permitting, certification, inspection, packaging or labeling required by any state governmental agency or any agency of any political subdivision of the state which pertains to the preparation, serving, use, consumption, or storage of foods or
food
products under the Wyoming Food Freedom Act. Nothing in this article shall preclude an agency from providing assistance, consultation or inspection, when requested by the producer.

(c)

Transactions under this section shall:

(i)

Be directly between the producer and the informed end consumer;

(ii)

Only be for home consumption;

(iii)

Occur only in Wyoming;

(iv)

Not involve interstate commerce.

(d)

Except for raw, unprocessed fruit and vegetables, food shall not be sold or used in any commercial food establishment unless the food has been labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected as required by law.

(e)

Any
food
product sold at a farmers market shall be labeled and signs shall be conspicuously posted informing consumers that the
food
product or food is not certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected.

(f)

Not potentially hazardous food as defined by W.S. 35
‑
7
‑
110(a)(xxx) shall not be labeled, licensed, regulated, packaged or inspected, if it is sold at a farmers market or sold from a producer to an informed end consumer.

(g)

Nothing in this article shall be construed to impede the Wyoming department of health in any investigation of food borne illness.

(h)

Nothing in this article shall be construed to change the requirements for brand inspection or animal health inspections.

(j)

Any informed end consumer purchasing products under the Wyoming Food Freedom Act assumes the inherent risks in the purchase, use or ingestion of the food or
food
products purchased, whether those risks are known or unknown, and is legally responsible for any and all damage, injury or death to himself or other persons or property that results from the inherent risks of purchasing or ingesting food or
food
products under the Wyoming Food Freedom Act.

(k)

A producer as defined by W.S. 11
‑
49
‑
102(a)(vi) is not required to eliminate, alter or control the inherent risks related to the purchase, ingestion or use of food or
food
products related to a transaction under the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, except as otherwise required under subsection (e) of this section.

(m)

Actions based upon negligence of the producer wherein the damage, injury or death is not the result of an inherent risk of the purchase, ingestion or use of food or
food
products related to a transaction under the Wyoming Food Freedom Act shall be preserved pursuant to W.S. 1
‑
1
‑
109.

(n)

The assumption of risk provisions in subsections (j) through (m) of this section apply irrespective of the age of the person assuming the risk.

11
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49
‑
104.

Sale of custom processed meat; rulemaking authority.

(a)

Meat which is processed by a custom meat processor may be sold by a producer to an informed end consumer under this act if the meat is inspected and approved under the state meat inspection program developed pursuant to W.S. 35
‑
7
‑
123(a)(x).

(b)

The department of agriculture shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

Section 2.

W.S. 35
‑
7
‑
110(a) by creating a new paragraph (xxxi) and by renumbering (xxxi) as (xxxii) and 35
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7
‑
124 by creating a new subsection (h) are amended to read:

35
‑
7
‑
110.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this act:

(xxxi)

"Commercial establishment" means and includes any place or any area of any establishment that is a wholesale or retail business where foods, drugs, devices and cosmetics are displayed for sale, manufactured, processed, packed, held or stored. "Commercial establishment" shall not include:

(A)

Any farmers market; or

(B)

Any business or person engaged in transactions pursuant to W.S. 11
‑
49
‑
103.

(xxxi)
(xxxii)

"This act" means W.S. 35
‑
7
‑
109 through 35
‑
7
‑
127.

35
‑
7
‑
124.

License required; exemptions; electronic transmittals.

(h)

The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to a producer selling food directly to the informed end consumer at a
farmers market or by ranch, farm or home based sales pursuant to W.S. 11
‑
49
‑
103
. The definitions in W.S. 11
‑
49
‑
102 shall apply to this subsection.

Section
3
.
If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid
or suspended by order of a court of competent jurisdiction
, such
actions
shall not affect other provisions or applications of this act
or existing Wyoming law
which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application; and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

Section
4
.

Th
is act is effective July 1, 2013
.

(END)

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HB0108