The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its long-awaited regulations on pre-harvest agricultural water in summer 2024, representing an important evolution of the agency's stance toward water safety management on farms. Released July 5, the final rule amends existing provisions within the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Rule. The change represents a significant shift from strict microbial quality criteria to a more nuanced, systems-based assessment approach, with the goal of supporting food safety by addressing contamination risks through a more adaptive and comprehensive framework.
FDA's final rule introduces a notable departure from previous regulations on pre-harvest water safety. Rather than putting into place stringent microbial quality standards for farms, the rule mandates a systems-based approach for pre-harvest agricultural water assessments. The new approach requires farmers and inspectors to consider a more expansive set of factors that could impact water safety, including the design of water distribution systems and potential contamination risks from water sources and other external sources.