After Schumer Push, FDA Issues Revised "Spent Grain" Rule that Will No Longer Hurt New York's Craft Brewers and Family Farmers

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a revised rule that will allow the age-old practice of brewers selling or donating spent grains to farmers to continue -- a practice which was at risk of being curtailed due to a proposed rule by the FDA. Schumer said that the FDA had originally proposed a rule to regulate this practice that would have hurt the burgeoning Upstate New York craft brew industry and farmers who supply spent grains.

The FDA was attempting to regulate this "spent grain" -- a natural byproduct of the brewing process -- in a way that could prevent brewers from selling or donating it directly to farmers, who use it to feed animals, something they have been doing for centuries. The FDA proposed this new rule as part of its continued implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, and, if enacted, would have forced brewers to trash the grains. According to the FDA, under the revised rule, brewers and farms that are already complying with FDA human food safety rules would not need to implement these additional, burdensome preventative controls and monitors when supplying a by-product like wet "spent grains" for animal food.

"Back in April, I made clear to the FDA that this ridiculous rule would have been extremely damaging for Upstate New York, harming both our burgeoning craft brew industry and farmers alike, and I am glad the FDA realized their proposed rule was misguided and needed to be revised," said Schumer. "This new rule, which eliminates the unnecessary burdens that could have threatened this age-old, win-win transaction, is a major victory for brewers and farmers throughout the state. Our small farmers and brewers can now rest easy that they do not have to toss potential profits."

If the initial proposed rulemaking had moved forward, the new regulations would have forced brewers to meet a series of requirements -- including changing the way brewers store and monitor the spent grain -- before selling or donating their spent grains to farmers, which would drive up costs for both brewers and farmers, with no additional safety benefit. Brewers would have had to go through a costly hazard analysis, in which they would have had to identify possible food safety risks, determine the likelihood of them occurring and the potential impacts, put preventive controls in place, and develop a written recall plan. Schumer said such a process would have been unnecessary and burdensome, given the lack of any documented health risk to humans or animals. Schumer visited breweries around the state to call attention to the need to abandon the original proposed rule, and in April, Schumer made a personal call to FDA Commissioner Peggy Hamburg to say that the original proposed rule would have been extremely damaging for Upstate New York, harming both the burgeoning craft brew industry and farmers alike. During the call, Commissioner Hamburg said to Senator Schumer that the FDA realized the rule had very negative unintended consequences for both brewers and farmers, and further that the FDA was committed to revising the rule in a way that did not prevent the selling or donating of "spent grain."

Spent Grain, or "wet grains," a natural byproduct of the brewing process, can be sold straight from breweries to farms at a very low cost, and are often donated from brewer to farmer. Schumer explained that these grains are perfect for use as an animal feed because the "wet' grains hydrate animals as they eat. Spent grains are also a good source of fiber and protein. It is estimated that almost 90 percent of brewers dispose of spent grain in the form of animal feed.

If the proposed rulemaking had moved forward, the new regulations would have forced brewers to meet a series of requirements -- including changing the way they store and monitor the spent grain -- before selling or donating their spent grains to farmers, which would have driven up costs for both brewers and farmers, with no additional safety benefit. Brewers would have had to go through a costly hazard analysis, in which they would have had to identify potential food safety hazards, estimate how likely they are to occur, predict how severe the effects would be, identify and implement preventive controls, monitor spent grains for any hazards, and develop a written recall plan. Schumer said such a process would be unnecessary and burdensome given the lack of any documented health risk to humans or animals.

Under the new FDA rule, brewers and farms that are already complying with FDA human food safety rules would not need to implement these additional, burdensome preventative controls and monitors when supplying a by-product like wet "spent grains" for animal food. The only time these additional controls would have to be implemented is in the case of further processing of a by-product. That means, if a brewery wished to dry, pellet, or heat-treat these "spent grains" for animal food, compliance with the preventive controls would be required. Simply distributing the raw by-product, like wet "spent grains" would not require additional compliance with the animal food rule.

For many brewers, the cost of meeting these previously proposed requirements would have been higher than simply tossing the grain. The brewing industry estimates that compliance with the initial proposed rule could have cost brewers nationwide over $50 million a year and could have become a significant burden on small brewers who produce fewer than 1,000 barrels of beer annually. Schumer noted this could have driven up costs, because eliminating this sort of collaboration would make production processes for both farmers and breweries less efficient.

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