Feds agree using byproduct of beer brewing for animal feed presents minimal risk, agree to change proposed rules
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today that federal regulators are acknowledging that the centuries-old practice of using the byproduct of beer brewing and distilling as animal feed is safe and should be allowed to continue. Previously the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued a proposed rule that brewers and distillers believe would have effectively ended that practice.
"The FDA has gotten the message, loud and clear, that this is a perfectly safe practice and should be allowed to continue," Pingree said. "They have even acknowledged that it just doesn't make sense to create strict new food safety rules thatwould end this age-old practice."
In a blog post today, the top food safety official at FDA, Michael Taylor, said "We agree with those in industry and the sustainability community that the 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. We have no intention to discourage or disrupt it."
Taylor went on to say the FDA agrees that the "the potential for any animal safety hazard to result from this practice is minimal."
Pingree had pressed Taylor's boss on the issue, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, at a House Appropriations Committee hearing last month. At the hearing, Pingree had called the proposed regulations "absurd" and Hamburg had promised Pingree that the agency would find a "reasonable solution."
The FDA will reissue proposed food safety rules this summer and promised to include language that will allow the practice of using spent grains as animal feed to continue.
"We still have to see the details FDA comes out with," Pingree said. "But this is very good news and I'm very hopeful."
Taylor's blog post can be seen here.
