The USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the public comment period concerning the “Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee” would be extended for an additional 30 days.
This will give stakeholders and the public 75 days to submit comments concerning the 571-page report. Earlier the chairman and ranking members of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee had written a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and the Secretary of HHS urging that the commented period be extended. The Senators said that this would allow constituents additional time to review the report “more carefully” before submitting questions and comments. The new deadline for comments is May 8. The USDA and HHS are holding a public meeting March 24, in Bethesda, Md., for oral comments regarding the dietary guidelines.
