WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Maine Congressional delegation this week joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of New England lawmakers in calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hold a public hearing in New England so that farmers can express concerns on proposed Food Safety Modernization Act rules.

The FDA recently issued two proposed rules implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a 2011 law revamping food safety laws to increase the safety of our food supply, which would address preventative controls for human food and standards for the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption. As proposed, the 1,200-pages of rules threaten New England farms with substantial regulatory and financial burdens.  

In a bipartisan letter sent Tuesday to FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Senators Collins and King and Representatives Michaud and Pingree joined with fellow members of the New England congressional delegation in urging the FDA to hold a public hearing so that farmers have an opportunity to voice their concerns about the proposed rules and their regional implications. In total, the letter was signed by 20 Senators and Representatives from every state in New England.  

“Agriculture is a robust and vital sector of our New England economy and greatly contributes to our environmental and public health…Substantial public investments have been made to ensure a robust and environmentally sustainable agricultural infrastructure in New England, and parts of the proposed FSMA rules threaten to undermine those investments,” said the lawmakers.

“The produce safety and preventive control rules as currently proposed by the FDA threaten to impose substantial regulatory and financial burdens that will impede the growth of these small farms and value-added on-farm enterprises.  We urge you to come to New England to hear firsthand from our producers about the potential financial and environmental impact that these proposed rules could have on our unique agricultural sector,” they added.

"As we quickly approach the close of public comments on this landmark piece of rulemaking it is imperative that FDA come to New England and provide a public forum for our producers and others to seek clarification of the proposed rules and to voice their concerns,” said Roger Noonan, President of the New England Farmers Union. “New England Farmers Union is extremely grateful to Representative Kuster and Senator Shaheen and the other members of the New England delegation for supporting this effort.”

“As written this rule will be a game changer, a New England based hearing would bring much needed attention to those that are unaware of its implications or have not taken it seriously,” said Jeff Holmes, President of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation. “We thank Senator Shaheen and Congresswomen Kuster for taking the lead in making this much needed request.”

Click below to download the full text of the letter.

Letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

###