February 8, 2014
Spent grain and livestock — what do they have to do with beer?
“Spent grain” is a by-product of the brewing process when a brewery steeps barley, wheat, and other grains in hot water to extract the wort, which will eventually become the beer. Brewers have no use for the spent grain, so generally, brewers have arrangements with nearby farms to use the tons of spent grain to feed cows and other livestock. Brewers charge farmers very little, if anything, for such spent grain.
The Food and Drug Administration, however, recently proposed rules that would make breweries meet the same standards as livestock and pet-food manufacturers. The rules would impose sanitary handling procedures, record keeping, and reporting requirements. These requirements would increase the costs of providing and delivering the spent grain to farmers, which would in turn, increase the amount of money brewers would have to charge farmers in order to recoup costs.
The FDA has taken the position that the regulations would help prevent foodborne illness in animals and people. Brewers, however, are concerned that the additional burdens the new rules impose would force them to simply dump the spent grain in a landfill, resulting in waste, where there had formerly been something of a recycling approach to the use of the spent grain. Farmers are, of course, concerned of the increased costs for livestock feed.
Brewers generally do not rely on the sale of spent grain for any sizeable portion of revenue, but many are concerned that the regulations will simply increase waste and harm farmers. One wonders exactly how this will play out, as there is a substantial push by brewer-related trade groups to exempt brewers from these regulations. Any brewers out there concerned about this may want to reach out to the FDA (although the comment period has already passed) and talk to any trade associations to which they belong in order to stay updated.