WASHINGTON – Breweries, beer drinkers, livestock owners and beef consumers in Durango and across the country can all breathe a sigh of relief: The FDA is not going to halt the practice of using brewery waste as animal feed.
Spent grain, a high-protein, oatmeal-looking byproduct of the brewing process, has been used as cattle feed for most of human history. The practice makes a lot of sense: Breweries get a waste-disposal source for the tons of the stuff they produce, and livestock owners get nutritious feed for their animals.
In October, as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act, the FDA proposed rules that would have characterized spent grain as “animal feed” and required breweries to be regulated as “commercial animal-feed manufacturers.” That would have added regulations to the practice and likely made it unaffordable for breweries, which would have resorted to hauling the spent grain to the dump instead of donating it.
The proposals were open to public comment until March 31, and many complaints were received from ranchers, brewers and U.S. senators regarding the issue.
Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, wrote a blog post on the FDA’s website Thursday to clarify that the FDA has no intention of changing the practice.
“We agree with those in industry and the sustainability community that the recycling of human food byproducts to animal feed contributes substantially to the efficiency and sustainability of our food system and is thus a good thing,” Taylor wrote. “We have no intention to discourage or disrupt it.”
Taylor said that the potential safety hazard from the process is minimal, as long as commonsense steps are taken.
“We’re relieved that common sense has prevailed,” said Kris Oyler, co-founder and CEO of Steamworks Brewing Co. Steamworks has always sent its grains off for some sort of agriculture and currently works with James Ranch.
Oyler quoted Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said the proposed rule was “an example of a solution in search of a problem.”
Bill Graham, co-founder of Ska Brewing Co., also was happy. Ska is the largest producer of spent grains in the area and works with a consortium of farmers.
“That’s great news,” Graham said. “I’m glad that there was enough response from farmers, breweries and distilleries and even wineries to reverse course.”
Colorado’s U.S. senators also rejoiced that their letter-writing and speech-making against the proposed regulation paid off.
“Colorado brewers and ranchers’ partnerships have shown how spent grains can be a cost-effective and safe livestock feed,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo. “I will keep fighting to ensure these partnerships are not imperiled by federal red tape.”
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., issued a news release.
“This was a classic case of the unintended consequences and confusion that can sometimes flow from well-meaning policies and language in Washington,” he said in the release. “Sometimes, by the time it gets here to Colorado, it doesn’t make much sense. We’re glad the FDA listened to the voices of Colorado’s livestock producers and breweries.”
The FDA will release revised animal feed guidelines for public comment this summer.
Katie Fiegenbaum is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald. Reach her at kfiegenbaum@durangoherald.com.
