FeedBack Earth doesn’t pass the sniff test, will put soy product on hold

FeedBack Earth fired up multiple runs of its controversial soy waste animal feed product Monday, and despite multiple tests of different deodorizing products, the stench remained,

“It did not go well,” Town Administrator Evan Brassard dryly told the Select Board Tuesday night. “The facility will not be doing any future testing of soy” for the time being.

Feedback Earth, a processing facility at 109 Creeper Hill Road, creates high-quality animal feed out of food waste. One type, made from bakery waste, appears to run without unpleasant odor and will continue to be processed. The soy cycles, however, are the source of far-reaching odors that have raised complaints since early November.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Divisions of Air Quality and Division of Solid Waste, as well as representatives from the Grafton Board of Health were on-site and around town to make sure the testing passed the sniff test.

Letters sent to the Select Board over the past week said the process “makes the smell outside really unbearable to the point you can’t even stay outside” and has one couple concerned that their child, who has a soy allergy, could develop respiratory issues.

Brassard said the company has been very cooperative throughout the process and has no desire to create an environmentally friendly animal feed that creates a decidedly unfriendly odor that has been compared to vomit or rotting cheese.

Future test runs will also be in conjunction with the DEP and Board of Health.

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