FDA Backs Down on Controversial Spent Grain Proposal

In a blog post, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Chief Food Safety
Inspector Michael Taylor said that the agency will not disrupt the current
practice of breweries and food manufacturers selling or donating spent grains
to farmers for use as animal feed. The proposed rule would have required
breweries to dry, package and inspect spent grain before it could be given to
cattle, which could have cost the brewing industry an estimated $50 million
per year, according to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Additional details appear
in Issue 519 of this Update.

FDA will still issue revised proposals on spent grains this summer, but Taylor
said they will not include requirements that human food manufacturers
establish separate animal feed safety plans and controls to cover their
by-products. “The recycling of human food by-products to animal feed
contributes substantially to the efficiency and sustainability of our food
system and thus is a good thing,” Taylor wrote. “We have no intention to
discourage or disrupt it.” See The Hill, April 25, 2014.

Issue 522