FDA to Prepare EIS for Proposed Produce Standards

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced plans to prepare an
environment impact statement (EIS) for a proposed rule that would establish
standards for the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for
human consumption. According to an August 16, 2013, FDA press release, the
agency determined that an EIS was necessary based on public feedback and
its own analysis, and will now begin a scoping process “designed to determine
relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis.”
FDA will accept comments on the EIS scoping process until November 15,
2013. Additional details about the proposed produce standards appear in
Issue 466 of this Update. See Federal Register, August 19, 2013.