CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has extended the comment for food safety rules for farmers by an additional week after people said they had technical problems submitting their views online.
New Hampshire Rep. Annie Kuster led a New England delegation in asking for the extension. The original deadline was Friday; the new deadline is Friday, Nov. 22.
Earlier this year, farmers attended FDA sessions on the rules, which would require them to take new precautions against contamination, including ensuring workers' hands are washed, irrigation water is clean and that animals stay out of fields. New England farmers say many aspects of the rules were derived from large-scale farming practices that don't apply to the region's smaller farms.
People had problems submitting comments on the website, Regulations.gov.