Can't go giving cows that spent grain....

[TimT]

Every time the yanks mention their FDA (Food and Drug Administration), it's to bad mouth it. And it's easy to see why....


FDA Moves to Stop Sharing Between Beer Makers and Farmers
Elizabeth Nolan Brown|
As anyone who's ever brewed their own beer knows, the process leaves a lot of excess ... stuff. This goopy aftermath of the brewing process is known as "spent grain," and it would generally go to waste. But many brewers have developed relationships with farmers, who feed the spent grain to cows and other livestock. It's a win-win: Farmers get cost-effective feed, while brewers cut down on environmental waste and also possibly make some extra cash (or at least save cash by not having to dispose of the spent grain).
Obviously, this won't do.
Under new rules proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, breweries would be required to dry and package spent grain before it could be given or sold to farmers to use as feed. Both brewers and farmers are upset by the proposal, which they say would pose a big financial burden and also just generally makes no sense.

BTW, 'draff', the word for spent grain, is one of my favourite words at the moment.

 

[Batz]

My guess is the big boys like Monsanto have a hand in this.

All that grain will now go to landfill and the farmers will have to buy in grain, easy to see who wins here.

Batz

 

[DU99]

Thats in Americia....

 

[Bribie G]

While millions of Americans sleep in cars and alleys or languish in jails with life sentences for possessing one ounce of ganja - unless they are lucky enough to have a five dollar an hour job at Walmart.

We have our own version of that Nazi setup - Food Standards Australia and New Zealand. Are you aware that New Zealand wants our supermarkets to sell your children 1.25L bottles of soft drink spiked with the stuff they put in Mother and Red Bull ... but everything? (lemonade, orange drink, sars you name it). Wellington can go and get fcucked as far as I'm concerned.

FSANZ also want to do away with most food labelling requirements, for example all those numbers and replace them with stuff like "flavour enhancers" or "freshness agents". I expect they get a good donation from Monsanto as well.

 

[TheWiggman]

Maybe I've missed something (probably have), but I can't see a reference in the FDA's web site for the proposed rule to spent grain. I mean draff. In fact, the only thing close is an exemption in the table at the bottom of the fact sheet - http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm366510.htm#facsheet

What interests me in cases like this is the reasoning behind a ruling. It's easy to assume it's to make an extra dollar alone (everything revolves around money after all) but from the brief review I just had of the ruling it regards the method of packaging and exposure to humans. The FDA is in the glorious position of being a target of all injuries and/or illnesses that may result from someone consuming something or coming into contact with a food product. That's why they exist, because the government is always to blame if someone gets hurt because it's at the highest tier of accountability. The home insulation thread is a good example of this.
So what does the FDA do to avoid being sued? Over-regulate. Much like WorkCover or the Australian political scene at large, if you can put down as many rulings, clauses and regulations then you pass as much liability onto the consumer as possible. Then you have regulatory bodies like the health system, trades requirements (electricians, plumbers, builders etc.) that have genuinely saved many lives over the years. The bodies win because then everyone who wants to do certain trade work needs to pay a membership/licence fee, the products require a tick or stamp of approval, and the government helps them out to uphold the standards. The consumer of course pays for all this. This however allows for a downward spiral of regulations and rubber stamps, and now people are barely allowed to turn on a light switch without calling an electrician around. But if we operate the switch in this country, you won't be electrocuted.

I'd say someone, somewhere has recognised that a smelly truck that went past their place has carried some fermenting grain and worked out that it has the potential to harbour bacteria that is hazardous to human health. The FDA, ever aware that this is something they don't regulate, feels the need to add another rule to prevent this probably zero-risk scenario from ever hurting someone. They're happy as they've convinced themselves they've saved a life, even if it's at the expense of someone's livelihood.
Let's home that in the name of common sense the interpretation of reasons.com doesn't go through.

 

[mr_wibble]

BTW, 'draff', the word for spent grain, is one of my favourite words at the moment.

How does one pronounce that ... Like drah-ff or drai-ffe ?

Maybe it's like duhn-sing or dan-sing

 

[mr_wibble]

I was considering getting a pig just so I could feed it the spent grain.
The chooks hoover it up pretty well already though.

My cousins use it as mulch ... Bet that must smell though.

 

[indica86]

Bet that must smell though.

It does, I tried it and it is feckin horrid.

 

[TimT]

TheWiggman, you've honed in on one of the reasons for FDA's zealousness in this cause - they're the rep of the US government and therefore at least in name responsible for the health of everyone in the US. There are other reasons, too - for instance, the general tendency of public-funded bureaucracies to create pointless regulations simply so that they can be seen to be doing their job and can justify their ongoing existence. Even though it doesn't directly affect us, being a US regulatory agency and all, it would still be nice to think that regulations could be simple and sensible and allow for people to use their own common sense. (Ah well, if we didn't have the gubmint to complain about what would we do when we wanted a whinge?)

 

[TimT]

Mr Wibble, crikey, I dunno. Rhymes with 'daff' as in 'daffodill', maybe?

Reminds me how when I was watching an episode of Brewing TV and they pronounced 'krausen' as "croy-zen". Stone the flaming crows! That's a bloody outrage, that is! Somebody oughter tell the Prime MInister!

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

M'Lord. We taketh o'fence that our gracious magesty shall lay upon us rules of which we share great greivance

 

[TheWiggman]

Should be a law introduced that requires this list at every bar and restaurant premises.

 

[dammag]

I have often wondered if the residual sugar in spent grain is a problem to livestock or is it on a par with grass etc?

 

[TimT]

The Bombay Bicycle Club - I remember those guys copped a lot of schtick a few months ago when they posted a different plaque on their wall talking in some detail about employee rates, problems with award wages, and how that affected their prices. A complicated area, and people should be able to have a civil conversation about these things without being accused of being a monster. Of course the image went viral, they were accused of stripping workers rights back, and a lot of online activists declared huffily that they'd boycott them from now on.

The internet being the internet I expect they've forgotten all about those righteous claims of boycotting now. Still, interesting to see that pic pop up again.

 

[indica86]

Sparge properly and ther won't be any left over sugars.

 

[GABBA110360]

mine go straight to the ckooks

 

[Cervantes]

As I only have three chooks mine go half to the chooks and half to the compost bin.

Although I do like this idea..............

http://www.canadianhomebrewers.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2442

Cheers
Andy

 

[TheWiggman]

There is such a thing as grain poisoning in livestock as the animals need to be weaned to grains before they can consume large quantities of it. This is a different issue though as regardless of the way it is prepared or transported, the risk remains and it is an issue for the farmers to deal with. Fermented grain is much safer for them, so it's probably better to leave it moist. I believe this is why silage exists.

 

[Batz]

Mine goes to the chooks as well.

We use much more than we should, your children will grow to realize this. We can not go on using the earths resources as we do, you can't throw something away, there is no away.

Recycle and reuse is a good start, how dare any government stop this.

Batz

 

[ekul]

Spent grain goes off pretty quickly, maybe they are worried about nasties poisoning the cattle which then poison the people, is alfatoxin the nasty one in grain? Making sure it is dried is probably just to ensure freshness.

I used to feed spent grain to my folks cows when i was living up there... and even the odd infected/shitty batch of beer. They loved it, the ones that got the grain once a week/fortnight were definitely bigger than the ones that didn't. And they LOVED the beer. NOthing funnier than a 500kg cow frolicking around like a puppy dog. Gets rid of the fear out of them and they'd chase me around trying to get more!!!