Why would they do this? In Government World, why not? They have nothing better to do
(Fox News) Beer brewers are objecting to a proposed federal rule that would make it harder for breweries to sell leftover grains as animal feed instead of throwing them away.
The Food and Drug Administration rule change would mean brewers would have to meet the same standards as livestock and pet-food manufacturers, imposing new sanitary handling procedures, record keeping and other food safety processes on brewers.
Beer makers complain that the new rules, if adopted, would force them to dump millions of tons of “spent grains,” which are left over after barley, wheat and other grains are steeped in hot water.
Bear Republic brewmaster Rich Norgrove says the rules would be costly and force brewers to dump the grains, instead of the more sustainable practice of feeding them to livestock.
It’s mission creep, and rule making for the sake of rule making. The FDA states this is part of modernizing the food safety system, and they’re concerned about foodborne illness in animals and people
Chris Thorne of the Beer Institute said he believes once the FDA has all of the information, it will see the benefits of the current system of recycling the old grain.
“This regulation is onerous and expensive, but really it’s just unnecessary. There has never been a single reported negative incidence with spent grain,” Thorne said in a statement.
Unfortunately, Chris, it matters little whether anything has ever happened, and that the regulation would be unnecessary: how often do federal agencies announce regulations and not implement them, regardless of what they hear during the comment period? This will have a negative impact on beer brewers, particularly small ones. And it will be a difficult balancing act between eating the extra costs and passing the costs on to consumers. All because the FDA wants to Do Something about an imaginary issue.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
I really like beer. I think I would probably even enjoy it more if I were sure that it was made with the same level of regulation as PET FOOD
I really like beer. I think I would probably even enjoy it more if I were sure that it was made with the same level of regulation as PET FOOD
Oh goody. Another person who doesn’t understand the regulations.
John, there are already regulations on the barley, wheat and hops. The origins of those ingredients are tracked by beer manufacturers as per regulations.
What is being talked about is the spent grains. Those are generally thrown into a pile and sold as food for animals. What the FDA is demanding that the breweries track origins of that as well. That would mean that a truck could not take a load of expended grain to a farm unless they had segregated the grains by origin, percent, ect.
There is no change in the regs on beer making, but rather the waste product from the process.
To add to guitar, the whole process is to eliminate perons (mad cow disease). But once exposure of the product occurs, then the organism is transferred to the whole and segregation is of little benefit. This is typical bureaucratic stupidity.