FDA relaxes food safety rules in response to farmers’ concerns

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided to relax its food safety rules after farmers complained that the new proposed regulations would hurt their businesses.

The FDA is inviting suggestions and comments from the public regarding the revised regulations under the Food Safety and Modernisation Act (FSMA) from 29 September. The comment period will be open for 75 days.

The rules, which were originally proposed in 2013, require farmers to adopt new precautions against contamination, such as making sure workers’ hands are washed, irrigation water is clean and that animals stay out of fields.

Food manufacturers will also need to submit food safety plans to prove to the government that they are meeting the standards of cleanliness.

According to the new rules, there would be some relaxation for standards for the amount of bacteria that can be found in irrigation water and reduction in the frequency with which it is tested. The proposal also reduces the time between fertilising and harvesting crops. Very small farms will be exempt from a lot of the rules.

The organic industry had also raised concerns regarding the new rules, as it uses raw manure as fertiliser and tries to treat irrigation water with fewer chemicals.

Brewers selling leftover grain as animal feed to ranchers and dairy farmers will also gain from the revisions, as the department clarified that they will not have to follow the animal food rules as they comply with the rules for human food.

The rules governing produce will apply primarily to certain risky fruits and vegetables that are usually eaten raw, such as berries, melons and leafy greens.

The FDA now has the authority to shut down facilities when needed. Stricter standards on imported foods will also be implemented as part of the new law.

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Image: Farmers will need to follow relaxed food safety rules proposed by the FDA. Photo: courtesy of Praisaeng / freedigitalphotos.net.