Section 120.54(4)(b), Florida Statutes, states that those rules pertaining to perishable agricultural commodities shall be included in the definition of rules relating to the public health, safety, or welfare. Due to early maturity and adverse climactic conditions during September and October significant amounts of the Florida orange crop in the 2011-2012 season will have an acid content below the 0.4 minimum established in Section 601.19, Florida Statutes. Strict enforcement of the anhydrous acid content requirements, which were adopted largely to control abuse of plant growth regulators which are no longer in use, could cause economic waste by allowing good and safe food to be ruled immature. After taking testimony and discussing the matter at a public meeting and hearing in Bartow, Florida on December 21, 2011, the Florida Citrus Commission found that there exist unusual growing conditions which could cause a substantial portion of the orange crop to fail minimum acid requirements. They voted unanimously to adopt Emergency Rule 20ER11-2, adjusting the percentage of anhydrous citric acid requirement for oranges for fresh and processed use from .40 to .36, from December 22, 2011 up to and including March 21, 2012.