On April 18, 2013, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the comment period for the proposed rules on Preventive Controls and Produce will be extended for an additional 120 days.  The original deadline was May 16, 2013.  It is anticipated that the new deadline will be in September, but a new official date has yet to be released.  FDA had received a number of requests to extend the deadline, including a letter from food and agriculture organizations co-signed by GCCA.  The addition time will enable interested parties to further examine the proposed rules and provide better feedback to the agency.  GCCA has already provided oral comments to FDA regarding the proposed rule on preventive controls and will also be submitting written comments.