WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following Senator Ashley Moody introducing her Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act in April and advocating for Florida’s citrus industry, the FDA proposed a new rule mirroring her legislation that would support growers by updating a sugar regulation, known as the Brix Standard, and end the nonsensical government overreach. The FDA’s proposed rule and Senator Moody’s legislation modernize the arbitrary standard of sugar levels for pasteurized orange juice from 10.5 percent to 10 percent while not making a discernible difference in taste and nutritional value. By updating this sugar standard, Florida citrus growers will be able to more easily respond to greening and recover from severe weather, while also regain their ability to compete in the marketplace and reduce reliance on importing foreign-grown citrus.
Since becoming Florida’s newest U.S. Senator, Ashley Moody has worked closely with President Donald Trump, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to correct this outdated and unnecessary regulation. Today, her months of advocacy resulted in a major victory for citrus growers with the proposal of this rule.
Senator Ashley Moody said, “Earlier this year, I vowed to our great Florida orange growers that I would do everything I could to modernize standards and streamline regulations to protect their industry. Our growers have faced many hardships over the past several years, from devastating storms to citrus greening, and could no longer endure the unnecessary and burdensome regulations that favored foreign growers. I have fought hard to ensure we can provide much-needed relief to Florida growers, and I am thrilled that under President Trump’s administration we are finally putting American growers first. The FDA has proposed a revised rule that will make a HUGE difference for Florida’s citrus growers. Thank you to President Trump, FDA Commissioner Makary, HHS Secretary Kennedy and Secretary of Agriculture Rollins for acting quickly to save an industry in peril, and implementing the critical objectives of my Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act. That is what real leadership looks like.”
MORE…
- Senator Ashley Moody Introduces Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act
- PHOTO RELEASE: Senator Ashley Moody and Citrus Stakeholders Fight to End Nonsensical Government Overregulation on the Citrus Industry
Senator Moody’s Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act would:
Direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lower the required level of sugar/solids content (brix standard) in not-from-concentrate pasteurized orange juice from 10.5 percent weight of orange juice soluble solids to 10 percent; a change that would not make a discernable difference in taste nor nutritional value. The change would, however, make a difference for citrus growers who have dealt with major hardships such as hurricanes in the past few years.
The proposed rule will undergo a 90-day public comment period before being finalized.