NGFA, NAEGA Like Bioterrorism Rule Changes

WASHINGTON - Dec 9/04 - SNS -- The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) believe the final rule about bioterrorism record keeping contains solid improvements on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initial effort.

The NGFA and NAEGA said several of the major changes made by FDA were consistent with the recommendations submitted by the two major grain and feed trade organizations in an extensive joint statement filed with the agency in 2003.

FDA's record keeping regulations require companies and facilities that manufacture, process, store, pack, transport, distribute, receive, or import food, feed or feed ingredients to maintain records sufficient to identify the immediate previous source of incoming products and immediate subsequent recipient of outbound products. The regulations encompass domestic and export grain elevators, commercial feed mills, corn and soy processing facilities, and pet food manufacturers. Under the bioterrorism-preparedness law enacted by Congress in 2002, FDA has the authority to access such records if it receives "credible threat of serious adverse health consequences or death" to humans or animals.

"Our initial analysis is that FDA has done a commendable job in revising its bioterrorism record keeping rules to reflect legitimate industry concerns and make them much more workable while still achieving its statutorily mandated requirement to protect the food supply in the event of a terrorism incident," said NGFA President Kendell W. Keith and NAEGA President Gary C. Martin. "It is this kind of partnership involving security enhancements by the private sector and proactive, practical steps by federal and state governments that will ensure the safety and security of the U.S. food supply."

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