If you’ve caught wind of the controversy around proposed laws on food safety, then you know that a lot of folks are knee-deep in talks about manure. Black gold – as farmers have been known to call it – manure makes for a brilliant fertilizer. But unless it’s used correctly, it can lead to serious foodborne illnesses. So, in accordance with the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule on produce early this year to place restrictions on using manure.

 

That’s created a stink – if you will – among organic farmers, who responded with a flurry of objections during the comment period, which closed Nov. 22. At issue is the extended length of time that farmers would have to wait before harvesting soil fertilized with manure. One of the conditions that distinguishes organic from conventional farming is the requirement to build soil with organic matter, a large chunk of which is manure, explains Laura Batcha, executive vice president of the Organic Trade Association, which represents the organic food industry in North America.

Under FDA’s proposed regulations, farmers would need to wait nine months before planting crops in soil where they’ve applied raw manure. Current organic standards have a waiting period that ranges from three to four months, depending on whether the crop’s contact with soil is direct (e.g. carrots) or indirect (e.g. apples). When it comes to composting manure, a heating process that kills bacteria, the rules would newly establish a 45-day waiting period before harvesting crops with direct soil contact. Critics call these extended waits arbitrary and argue that the delays would disrupt farmers’ ability to rotate crops, which also aids in their pest control.

Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-39-manure-proposal-39-big-stink-210613454.html