A Food Safety Advisory Committee was established in 1990 to advise the Commissioner of Agriculture and the Legislature on food defense and safety issues. At that time, some members were mandated by statute and others were appointed by the governor.
The group changed from an "advisory committee" to a "task force" in 2001, but membership and duties of the group remained the same (see Laws of Minnesota 2001, chapter 161, section 10).
In 2003, the task force was, with a number of other advisory groups, eliminated.
However, the Commissioner and task force members believed the group's input was vital and so the Commissioner continued this group as a commissioner's task force under Minn. Stat. chap. 15. In 2007, the Legislature reinstated the Task Force (see Minn. Stat. 28A.21), as a formal appointed body to advise the commissioner of agriculture and the legislature on food safety and defense issues.