Federal officials want input on one of the loose ends they left dangling when they published the new produce safety rule this past fall — the use of raw manure in fresh produce growing operations. Pushback from industry led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to hold off on including specific manure regulations in the produce safety rule, which was made public in November. The agency was under a federal court order to finish the rule by Halloween 2015, but FDA officials said they lacked adequate scientific data to nail down the “biological soil amendments” portion of the rule. “The agency is concerned about the potential of raw manure and other such amendments to contain disease-causing bacteria. Growers see raw manure and other such amendments as an effective way to enrich the quality of their soil,” according to an FDA news release. The agency is seeking help to develop its framework for its risk assessment on “the use of raw manure and other biological soil amendments of animal origin.” Comments are due by May 3 and can be filed electronically, by mail and via fax. Instructions on how to file comments are included in the comment notice in the Federal Register.