TIFTON, Ga.– Great news came today for the American peanut industry when the U.S Department of Transportation issued a clarification to the proposed rule on banning peanuts from commercial airlines. The clarification states that DOT will comply with Section 346 of the DOT and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2000 Public Law 106-09 which calls for a scientific study before requiring an air carrier to ban peanuts.

Public Law 106-69 requires that the DOT must submit to Congress a “peer-reviewed scientific study that determines that there are severe reactions by passengers to peanuts as a result of contact with very small airborne peanut particles of the kind that passengers might encounter in an aircraft” before requiring or encouraging an air carrier to “provide a peanut-free buffer zone or any other related peanut-restricted area; or restrict the distribution of peanuts.”

The Georgia Peanut Commission opposed the proposed DOT airline peanut ban earlier due to lack of scientific research and singling out one food item to ban. The DOT issued the proposed rule June 8.

“ The Department of Transportation has provided no study or scientific research to justify a proposed restriction or ban on peanuts and peanut products,” says Armond Morris, chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission. “A ban on passengers bringing peanut products on-board cannot be enforced and could create a false sense of security if passengers believe they are entering a peanut-free environment.”

The Georgia Peanut Commission recognizes the efforts of Congressmen Jim Marshall, D-Ga. and Sanford Bishop, D-Ga. and Bobby Bright, D-Ala., for taking the lead in organizing House members in opposition to the DOT proposal. Also, U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., has been organizing peanut state senators in opposition to the proposal and communicating with DOT.

Additional information is available online at www.americanpeanuts.com.