Posted April 25, 2014
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will reconsider a controversial rule that was recently criticized by dairies, breweries, and legislators, according to an article by The Hill available here. The proposed rule is part of the FDA’s implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The FDA’s chief food safety inspector, Michael Taylor said the agency has “no intention” of preventing breweries from giving spent beer grains to farmers for cattle feed.
“We’ve heard from trade groups and members of Congress, as well as individual breweries raising concerns that FDA might disrupt or even eliminate this practice by making breweries, distilleries, and food manufacturers comply not only with human food safety requirements, but also additional, redundant animal feed standards that would impose costs without adding value for food or feed safety,” Taylor wrote in a blogposted on the agency’s website.
“That, of course, would not make common sense, and we’re not going to do it,” added Taylor.
While the FDA is not withdrawing the rule in its entirety, Taylor indicated that the “agency plans to water down a revised version of the rule expected to be published this summer, in an effort to address these concerns.”
Taylor said “[W]e agree with those in industry and the sustainability community that recycling of human food by-products to animal feed contributes substantially to the efficiency and sustainability of our food system and is thus a good thing,” Taylor wrote. “We have no intention to discourage or disrupt it.”
Spent grains are “byproducts of alcoholic beverage brewing and distilling that are very commonly used as animal feed.”
The proposed rule, “Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventative Controls for Food for Animals” available here, seeks to assure that food for animals is safe and will not cause illness or injure animals or humans.
For more information on food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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