For as long as we have been brewing beer, animals have been fed the spent grain. But not for much longer if a new FDA rule is approved according to a blog on the Boingboing website.
So what’s going on? Basically the FDA want to tighten controls on what can be fed to animals, which is not a bad thing in itself, but in their proposed rule change the brewers would be required to dry, analyse and package the spent grain before giving it to the farmer. Obviously something that is going to substantially increase the cost of disposal.
Brandon Mazer, a legal counsel for Maine’s largest brewer, Shipyard, was quoted in the article as saying “It’s a very big umbrella, and we got sucked under it”. There has been a call for an exception for brewers from brewing organisations including The Brewers Association, Beer Institute and American Malting Barley Association.
The FDA have asked for comments from the public and you still have today to have your say. Click on the this link to go to the FDA website.
Read the full story on the Boingboing website.