Hello BESTers,

A proposed rule under the FDA will require more stringent safety 
regulations for any food waste that is used as animal feed.  The goal of 
this regulation, according to the FDA, is to provide safer feed for 
animals which in turn would provide safer food for people.  While on the 
surface this may be a noble goal, it could potentially have some 
negative side effects for food waste recycling.  The proposal is being 
opposed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association(GMA), which represents 
some of the largest food manufacturers in the country.  They believe 
that this proposal will sharply decrease the amount of food waste that 
food manufacturers recycle for animal feed due to over-burdensome 
regulations and paper work.  The GMA estimates that currently nearly 70% 
of food waste from manufacturers is sent towards animal feed, with only 
5% sent to landfills (a surprisingly high number but good news if it is 
real).  With this new regulation, food waste to feed could be reduced to 
22% of food waste and 28% would be sent to landfills.  While it should 
be noted that the GMA is an industry advocacy group and most industry 
groups generally oppose any additional regulation, these could be some 
legitimate concerns and an issue that needs to be brought to light.

Have a great weekend,
Ryan

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/fda-trash-food-recycling-105726.html

Food companies unhappy with FDA feed proposal
Politico
Helena Bottemiller Evich
April 16, 2014