The second public comment period on the Food and Drug Administration’s  (FDA) revised proposed food safety rules will begin September 29, 2014 for a 75 day period ending in mid-December.  The revised rules apply to farms growing fresh produce and the facilities that process food.

Originally issued in January 2013, the first proposed rules included  requirements that would have put many small sustainable and organic farms out of business and damaged the growth of small local food enterprises.

Due to public input and outcry, the recently released proposals contain revisions that reflect FDA’s new thinking on critical issues such as water quality  standards and testing; standards for using raw manure and compost; provisions affecting “mixed- use facilities” (farms that engage in value-added processing); and due process considerations for farms that are eligible for qualified exemptions from the new regulations.

You can find more information at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalitions’s  website at: http://sustainableagriculture.net/fsma/

(From NSAC, Sept. 19, 2014 http://sustainableagriculture.net)

Sept-October 2014 Rural Papers