Citing concerns of growers throughout the country, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced changes will be made to two Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules, which affect large and small farmers.
The key provisions to be revised include water quality standards and testing, standards for using raw manure and compost, certain provisions affecting mixed-use facilities and procedures for withdrawing the qualified exemption for certain farms.
Last year, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) submitted comments, asking the agency to clarify the treatment of “farm mixed-type facilities” and calling for a second draft of the proposed rules available for public comment.
AFBF tackled the FDA’s use of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recreational water standard, stating “This standard will likely result in a large number of farms losing access to critical sources of irrigation water and experiencing crop loss.”
AFBF also addressed grower outreach, regulatory consultation and coordination, research, public education and domestic and wild animals.
The FDA plans to seek additional comment on the revisions, and FDA Deputy Commissioner Mike Taylor indicated the agency also may open the scope of the combined rules for public comment.