Beer brewers are up in arms against the Food and Drug Administration. Breweries are pushing back against a proposed federal rule that would make it harder for them to sell leftover grains as animal feed instead of throwing it away, according to Fox News.
The new FDA rule would make it so that brewers have to meet the same standards as livestock and pet-food manufacturers; it would impose new sanitary handling procedures, record keeping and other food safety processes, according to NBC News. Yet brewers argue that this ruling would force them to dump millions of tons of "spent grains" that are left over after barley, wheat and other grains are steeped in hot water.
"Many of the more than 2,700 small and independent craft breweries that operate throughout the United States provide spent grain to local farms for use as animal feed," said the Brewers Association in a statement, according to Fox News. "The proposed FDA rules on animal feed could lead to significantly increased costs and disruptions in the handling of spent grain."
In fact, Beer Institute spokesman Chris Thorne said in a statement that the regulation is both "onerous and expensive," according to the Houston Chronicle. He also added that "There has never been a single reported negative incidence with spent grain."
Currently, U.S. brewers are hoping to stop the proposed rule change. But if the ruling goes through, it could mean far more expenses for craft breweries. This, in turn, could impact business. According to NBC News, the FDA is collecting comment through Monday.
