Idaho senators seek to defund proposed FDA
rule
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May 22, 2013 |
In an effort to prevent potentially devastating
regulatory burdens from being placed on U.S.
farmers, Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and
Congressman Dr. Dan Benishek (R-Michigan) today
introduced the SCRAP Act, or Stopping Costly
Regulations Against Produce, in the U.S. House
and Senate.
This legislation would defund the Food and Drug
Administration’s (FDA) proposed fresh produce
rule that will negatively impact farmers
throughout the country.
“The FDA is joining a long list of federal
agencies pushing costly regulations on Idaho
farmers,” said Crapo. “Presently, the majority
of produce grown in the United States is
designated as low risk. However, FDA’s assertion
that even minimum risk commodities should be
subject to the same rules based on evidence that
has not materialized is particularly concerning.
FDA should focus its efforts on proven risks,
not impose costly regulatory burdens on
producers based on hypothetical evidence. Such
action will have a major impact on Idaho’s
agriculture community by driving up costs on
small and mid-sized farmers, leading to
significant drops in food production and higher
prices.”
“It is unfortunate that the FDA is working to
find a solution to a problem that they
themselves have created. This proposed rule will
create needless additional burden and costs at a
time when we should do more to assist the
agricultural industry in keeping our food supply
safe and affordable for all Americans," said
Risch.
“These new regulations are just another example
of Washington bureaucrats hurting families and
farmers here in Northern Michigan. Once again,
these guys in the federal government are
thinking up new rules that make life harder and
hurt the economy. I’m all for having a safe and
protected food supply in this country, but we
need to do it in a reasonable way that doesn’t
hurt our farmers and jack up the price of our
food,” said Dr. Benishek, a general surgeon from
Iron River and Michigan’s only member of the
House Committee on Agriculture. “Our farmers
work hard every day to deliver quality products
to our table. The last thing they need is
federal bureaucrats making their jobs more
expensive and more complicated. We need to get
the FDA to use some more common sense and listen
to our farmers, instead of just passing tons of
new costly regulations.”
On January 4, 2013, the FDA announced a proposed
rule for growing, harvesting, packing and
holding fresh produce on domestic and foreign
farms.
The proposed rule was issued pursuant to the
Food Safety Modernization Act, which Congress
passed in December 2010. It would require weekly
testing of all agricultural water at a cost of
$35 to $40 per week. If levels of coliform
bacteria exceed the FDA’s standard, the farmer
must cease irrigation until the water is in
compliance, running a high risk of ruining a
crop.
The FDA estimates that the cost of
implementation will cost a producer roughly
$5,000 to $30,600 per farm, depending on size,
and with a total industry price tag of $460
million.
Crapo and Risch will introduce the SCRAP Act as
an amendment to the Agriculture Reform, Food and
Jobs Act of 2013, known as the Farm Bill, which
is currently being considered on the Senate
floor. Dr. Benishek will introduce the SCRAP Act
as a standalone bill in the House of
Representatives.
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