After Courtney Letter, FDA Revises and Extends Comment Period on Food Safety Rules
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the agency will revise proposed rules and provide an additional comment period to accommodate additional further from farmers. Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2), along with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), led a letter that was signed by 75 members of Congress to urge FDA to take the actions they announced today. The most recent version of the proposed rules for the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) prompted concern among farmers across the country over a range of unintended consequences.
“I am pleased to see that the FDA has taken our input into account, revised its proposals, and will seek further comment, so that Connecticut farmers—like those I recently met with in Woodstock—have an additional opportunity to make their voices heard,” said Congressman Courtney. “The FDA’s willingness to listen provides an avenue to promote food safety rules that will not unduly burden Connecticut farms. I look forward to continuing this work with my congressional colleagues, state agricultural officials, and producers so that we can get these rules right for everyone. ”
“We appreciate Congressman Courtney’s efforts on this issue and the willingness of the FDA to listen with an open mind as these rules are being developed,” said Connecticut Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steven Reviczky. “When FDA officials came to Connecticut in May they expressed their intention to consider all sides of the issue as they moved forward. There was considerable concern over FDA’s proposed rules and their impact on Connecticut agriculture and farm families. The opportunity to provide comment on revised rules is essential and most-welcome. Congressman Courtney’s leadership as a member of the House Agriculture Committee on this and other matters is invaluable to Connecticut farm families”
“The Connecticut Farm Bureau—representing nearly 5,000 members—is very pleased that the FDA has taken into account the input they received on FSMA from Connecticut farmers and Agriculture leaders,” said Henry Talmage, Executive Director of the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association. “While we applaud efforts to improve food safety, we were greatly concerned that the proposed rules failed to understand the scale and production practices utilized in Connecticut by our growers. We look forward to working further with the FDA to makes sure the final rules enhance food safety while continuing to allow for robust local produce production in Connecticut.”
On November 25th, the lawmakerssent a letter urging FDA to revise the proposed rules and extend the comment period, writing: “Despite your agency’s efforts to engage with stakeholders during the rulemaking process, we remain concerned about the ambiguity surrounding many aspects of these proposed rules.”
“We believe the rules as currently proposed would result in a multitude of unintended consequences that would be severely detrimental to national, regional and local agriculture. By seeking additional input through second proposed rules for public comment before final rules, we believe that producers’ concerns can be addressed and unintended consequences can be greatly mitigated.”
In March, the FDA proposed two rules to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a 2011 law aimed at increasing the safety of our domestic food supply. These rules addressed preventive controls for human food and standards for the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption. As proposed, the 1,200-page rules have left food producers and processors across the country concerned about a number of issues, including facility compliance and environmental standards. The FDA’s announced plan to re-propose key rule language will allow farmers and stakeholders to provide additional input on the FDA’s rulemaking process.