The Food and Drug Administration will redraft proposed rules for the use of brewery waste as animal feed after both brewers and farmers complained the plan would impose a burden on the centuries-old practice.
“People reading (the proposal) thought 'I need a whole new system, we've got to do something totally different.' That was not our intent,” said Daniel McChesney, director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance in the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Though I'll admit that when reading through (the proposal), that is one possible interpretation.”
The FDA expects to have a new, less burdensome version of the regulation ready this summer.
Beer And Beef Cows
Brewer Brian Denn removes the spent grain from brewing kettles at the Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Healdsburg. The grain is picked up by local beef cattle ranchers for feed. (John Burgess)
Brewer Brian Denn removes the spent grain from brewing kettles at the Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Healdsburg. The grain is picked up by local beef cattle ranchers for feed. (John Burgess)
Logan LaFranchi scoops grains for feeding the cattle at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Logan LaFranchi feeds cattle on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Logan LaFranchi feeds the calves on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
After the troughs are filled, Cheryl LaFranchi opens the gate and steps out of the way for the charging herd at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Cattle feed on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Cattle feed on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Cattle feed on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Cattle feed on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Cattle feed on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Cattle feed on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Cattle feed on the spent grains from brewing beer at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
Taylor Long scoops the spent grains from brewing beer out of the transport truck at Oak Ridge Ranch in the Alexander Valley. For the past 18 years the LaFranchi family has teamed with Bear Republic Brewing Co. to put the grains to use feeding beef cattle. Their cattle production has increased in tandem with the Healdsburg-based beer maker. (John Burgess)
The FDA is considering requiring extensive handling processes and recordings for “spent grains,” the barley, wheat and other grains left over after the brewer steeps them in hot water to create the sugary liquid that will later become beer.
Most brewers sell or give the spent grains to farmers for use as feed for cows and other livestock. Because the cost is far lower than other forms of feed, ranchers say the grains are an important cornerstone of their business.
The FDA, however, says it wants to make sure there is no possibility of contamination of the waste, part of a sweeping modernization of the nation's food supply authorized by Congress. The comment period on the proposed regulation closed Monday; it's not yet clear how many people or organizations submitted comments, but McChesney admitted to being surprised by the volume of outrage over the proposal.
Brewers said slapping new food handling requirements on the grain would be difficult and expensive and might force them to dump billions of pounds of spent grains into landfills.
(page 2 of 3)
The Beer Institute, a major trade association for the brewers, reacted with pleasure to news the FDA might issue less burdensome rules.
“We are cautiously optimistic that they are going to amend the rule by summer and do so in a way that we can continue this practice without going through the onerous regulatory process they propose,” said Chris Thorne, vice president of communications for the Beer Institute.
Brewers argue there are no documented cases of illness from the use of spent grains. McChesney agreed, but said the regulatory modernization effort is designed to orient the FDA more toward prevention than reacting after a problem occurs.
Just because there has never been a case of illness from the grains, he said, “doesn't mean you couldn't have a problem.”
Brewers also argue they should be exempt from FDA regulation of byproducts such as spent grain under the same law that makes finished alcoholic beverages — beer, wine, cider and spirits — exempt from the FDA's normal oversight of food products.
McChesney said the agency had been operating under the assumption that since the grain and other byproducts are not in themselves alcoholic beverages, the FDA has authority to regulate them.
The agency will have its lawyers take a closer look at the industry's argument, he said.
“It's at least worth being considered and responded to,” he said.
McChesney said a new version of the regulation would likely make clear simply that byproducts should be handled in a sanitary manner — perhaps setting standards for how long it could remain in storage before shipment to a farm, or requiring that it be transported in containers free from contamination.
Breweries and other manufacturers already must treat their ingredients with care to avoid contamination and spoilage, he said. FDA regulators will look at ways to ease the burden on brewers by allowing them to use existing processes and documentation as evidence of the proper handling of spent grains.
(page 3 of 3)
If the FDA regulation does go into effect, it would apply to other alcohol manufacturers and byproducts used for animal feed, including used brewer's yeast, used hops, the ground grains from distilled spirits, and the pulp from apples and pears used to make ciders.
In theory, McChesney said, the rules would also apply to the skins, stems and seeds left over from wine production if it were used as animal feed, but vintners say such material is used as compost in the fields rather than as feed.
The regulation would also apply to other food manufacturers, such as bakers, candy and chip makers, and others who send their irregular or waste foods off to be used as feed, as well as manufacturers who produce commercial pet food.
The spent grain issue, however, generated the most public comment, along with comments urging strict regulation of the pet food plants.
“People are passionate about their beer and their pets,” McChesney said.
The Food and Drug Administration will redraft proposed rules for the use of brewery waste as animal feed after both brewers and farmers complained the plan would impose a burden on the centuries-old practice.
“People reading (the proposal) thought 'I need a whole new system, we've got to do something totally different.' That was not our intent,” said Daniel McChesney, director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance in the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Though I'll admit that when reading through (the proposal), that is one possible interpretation.”
The FDA expects to have a new, less burdensome version of the regulation ready this summer.
The FDA is considering requiring extensive handling processes and recordings for “spent grains,” the barley, wheat and other grains left over after the brewer steeps them in hot water to create the sugary liquid that will later become beer.
Most brewers sell or give the spent grains to farmers for use as feed for cows and other livestock. Because the cost is far lower than other forms of feed, ranchers say the grains are an important cornerstone of their business.
The FDA, however, says it wants to make sure there is no possibility of contamination of the waste, part of a sweeping modernization of the nation's food supply authorized by Congress. The comment period on the proposed regulation closed Monday; it's not yet clear how many people or organizations submitted comments, but McChesney admitted to being surprised by the volume of outrage over the proposal.
Brewers said slapping new food handling requirements on the grain would be difficult and expensive and might force them to dump billions of pounds of spent grains into landfills.
The Beer Institute, a major trade association for the brewers, reacted with pleasure to news the FDA might issue less burdensome rules.
“We are cautiously optimistic that they are going to amend the rule by summer and do so in a way that we can continue this practice without going through the onerous regulatory process they propose,” said Chris Thorne, vice president of communications for the Beer Institute.
Brewers argue there are no documented cases of illness from the use of spent grains. McChesney agreed, but said the regulatory modernization effort is designed to orient the FDA more toward prevention than reacting after a problem occurs.
Just because there has never been a case of illness from the grains, he said, “doesn't mean you couldn't have a problem.”
Brewers also argue they should be exempt from FDA regulation of byproducts such as spent grain under the same law that makes finished alcoholic beverages — beer, wine, cider and spirits — exempt from the FDA's normal oversight of food products.
McChesney said the agency had been operating under the assumption that since the grain and other byproducts are not in themselves alcoholic beverages, the FDA has authority to regulate them.
The agency will have its lawyers take a closer look at the industry's argument, he said.
“It's at least worth being considered and responded to,” he said.
McChesney said a new version of the regulation would likely make clear simply that byproducts should be handled in a sanitary manner — perhaps setting standards for how long it could remain in storage before shipment to a farm, or requiring that it be transported in containers free from contamination.
Breweries and other manufacturers already must treat their ingredients with care to avoid contamination and spoilage, he said. FDA regulators will look at ways to ease the burden on brewers by allowing them to use existing processes and documentation as evidence of the proper handling of spent grains.
If the FDA regulation does go into effect, it would apply to other alcohol manufacturers and byproducts used for animal feed, including used brewer's yeast, used hops, the ground grains from distilled spirits, and the pulp from apples and pears used to make ciders.
In theory, McChesney said, the rules would also apply to the skins, stems and seeds left over from wine production if it were used as animal feed, but vintners say such material is used as compost in the fields rather than as feed.
The regulation would also apply to other food manufacturers, such as bakers, candy and chip makers, and others who send their irregular or waste foods off to be used as feed, as well as manufacturers who produce commercial pet food.
The spent grain issue, however, generated the most public comment, along with comments urging strict regulation of the pet food plants.
“People are passionate about their beer and their pets,” McChesney said.
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