The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has worked around the clock to interpret the 1,500+ page Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and break it down into easily digestible sections of information.  Below is their take on the proposed agricultural water standards in FSMA and how it will dramatically change the way farmers manage one of their most important resources.  The full text and other resources can be found on the NSAC website: http://sustainableagriculture.net/

Proposed Agricultural Water Standards in FSMA:

The proposed standards for agricultural water include:

  • General water quality requirements;
  • Water system inspection requirements;
  • Water treatment requirements;
  • Water testing requirements;
  • Requirements for water used in harvesting, packing, and holding of produce; and
  • Recordkeeping requirements.

The requirements apply to “agricultural water” – i.e., water that is used in the growing, harvesting, packing, or holding of “covered” produce (click here for the list of produce subject to the requirements of the Produce Rule).  FDA considers water to be “agricultural water” if it is intended to or likely to contact covered produce or food-contact surfaces.  Examples of agricultural water include irrigation water that is directly applied to the harvestable portion of a crop, water used for preparing crop sprays, and water used for washing or cooling harvested produce.

Broadly, the proposed agricultural water standards are aimed at minimizing the likelihood of produce being contaminated by pathogens in water used in the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce.  Because the methods for detecting microbial pathogens in water are so limited, FDA is basing its proposed standards on monitoring for hazards and testing water for fecal contamination – specifically for generic E. coli, which FDA claims is a satisfactory indicator for determining fecal contamination.

What the Proposed Standards Require

General Water Quality Requirements

Generally, the proposed agricultural water standards require farmers to ensure that agricultural water is “safe” and “of adequate sanitary quality for its intended use.”  That means that water should not contain pathogens or contaminants and that it should be suitable for use.  This general requirement underpins the entire water standard.

If, through any of the scenarios discussed below, a farmer has determined or has reason to believe that the agricultural water is not safe or of adequate sanitary quality, generally the standards require the farmer to immediately discontinue use of that water on the farm.  The farmer must then take action to address the water quality problem in one of two ways:

  1. Inspect the on-farm agricultural water system components that are under the farm’s control, identify any conditions that could be causing the problem, make any necessary changes to fix the problem, and retest the water to ensure the changes were effective;OR
  2. Treat the water (see the water treatment section below).

Note: FDA’s language in the rules is very unclear on this issue.  The above text reflects our effort to analyze and understand FDA’s intent and is still preliminary.

Water System Inspection Requirements

The proposed standards require a farmer to inspect his/her agricultural water system at the beginning of a growing season.  In that inspection, a farmer must identify conditions that may result in hazards contaminating produce through water, and take into consideration:

  • The nature of each agricultural water source (e.g., ground water or surface water);
  • The extent of the farmer’s control over each source;
  • The degree of protection of each source;
  • Use of adjacent or nearby land; and
  • The likelihood of hazards being introduced in the water by a farm upstream.

The standards require a farmer to adequately maintain all agricultural water sources under that farmer’s control and keep those sources free of possible sources of contamination such as debris, trash, or domesticated animals.  Farmers must also inspect and maintain equipment used in the agricultural water system, and minimize the amount of pooling water.

Water Treatment Requirements

The water treatment requirements in the proposed rule are not very clear, but it seems like FDA is attempting to require treatment of agricultural water if the agricultural water is not safe and of adequate sanitary use and the problem is not within the farmer’s control.

If the water is not safe due to conditions beyond a farmer’s control, and therefore the farmer has to treat the water according to the proposed rule, then FDA suggests treating water with an antimicrobial compound.  FDA notes, however, that any chemical used to treat water would need to be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and that, presently, there is no such registration for chemical treatment of irrigation water.  FDA assumes that this issue will be addressed and a new registered product created before farmers must comply with the water standards (see compliance information below).

For water that is treated, FDA requires a farmer to make sure that the treated water is consistently safe and of adequate sanitary use, and to monitor treatment at an adequate, but unspecified frequency.

Water Testing Requirements

FDA is proposing to require testing of agricultural water when that water:

  • Directly contacts the harvestable portion of a crop prior to, during, or after harvest;
  • Directly contacts food-contact surfaces;
  • Is used for hand washing during and after harvest;
  • Is used to make agricultural teas; or
  • Is used to irrigate sprouts.

A farmer would not be required to test his/her agricultural water if he/she:

  • Uses water from public water systems and has public water system results or certificates of compliance; or
  • Treats the water according to the water treatment requirements (see above).

For farmers that have to test water, FDA is proposing two numerical standards for testing:

  1. No detectible E. coli present per 100 ml of water:  This standard would apply to water used for an activity during and after harvest, water used to make agricultural teas, and water used in sprout irrigation.
  2. No more than 235 colony forming units (CFUs) generic E. coli per 100 ml for a single water sample, and a rolling geometric mean of five samples of no more than 126 CFU per 100 ml:  This standard would apply to water used for growing activities (except for sprouts) that directly contact the harvestable portion of the crop.  FDA is also allowing farmers to offer an alternative to this standard (see below).

To determine whether agricultural water meets the above standards, FDA is proposing testing frequencies based on the type of agricultural water used.  The most stringent testing frequencies apply to untreated surface water:

  • If the untreated surface water is from a source where a “significant quantity of runoff” is likely to drain into it (e.g., a river or lake), then a farmer must test the water at least every seven days during the growing season.
  • If the untreated surface water is from a source where underground aquifer water is transferred to a surface water containment in a way that minimizes runoff drainage into the containment (e.g., on-farm constructed water reservoir), then a farmer must test the water at least once each month during the growing season.

For other water sources, such as ground water, FDA is proposing that farmers test at the beginning of each growing season, and every three months thereafter during the growing season.

If the agricultural water does not meet the applicable standard, it does not mean that the produce is contaminated; rather FDA is proposing the standards as indicators of problems within the water system.  If the agricultural water does not meet the standard, then a farmer must stop using that source of agricultural water and either:

  1. Inspect the on-farm agricultural water system components that are under the farm’s control, identify any conditions that could be causing the problem, make any necessary changes to fix the problem, and retest the water to ensure the changes were effective;OR
  2. Treat the water (see the water treatment section below).

Note: FDA’s language in the rules is very unclear on this issue.  The above text reflects our effort to analyze and understand FDA’s intent and is still preliminary.

FDA is allowing farmers to use alternatives to requirements for testing water and taking action based on those tests when agricultural water is used during growing of covered produce (other than sprouts).  Farmers are expected to provide documentation showing that the alternative method is supported by adequate scientific data indicating that the alternative would provide the same level of public health protection and would not result in adulterated produce.  This alternatives option is not applicable to water used during and after harvest, water used to make agricultural teas, and water used in sprout irrigation.

Requirements for Water used in Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce

For water used during harvesting, packing, and holding activities, FDA is requiring farmers to manage the water to maintain adequate sanitary quality and minimize the potential for contamination.  Farmers must visually monitor the quality of water for build-up of organic material, and must maintain and monitor water temperature to minimize the potential for infiltration of microorganisms into covered produce.

Recordkeeping Requirements

FDA is proposing that farmers keep the following records with respect to agricultural water:

  • The findings of the inspection of the agricultural water system;
  • Documentation of results of any analytical tests conducted to determine whether agricultural water is safe and of adequate sanitary quality;
  • Scientific data or information to support the adequacy of a water treatment method used;
  • Documentation of results of water treatment monitoring;
  • Documentation of the results of water testing;
  • Scientific data used to support the use of an alternative for agricultural water used during growing activities; and
  • Annual documentation of the results or certificates of compliance from a public water system, if applicable.

All of these recordkeeping requirements are subject to the overarching recordkeeping requirements of the proposed Produce Rule, available here.

Compliance Dates

Because the agricultural water standard is based on limited scientific evidence, because there are huge research gaps in agricultural water issues, and because the proposed standards are untenable at this time, FDA is proposing extended compliance dates for the agricultural water standards.

For the water testing, monitoring, and associated recordkeeping requirements, FDA is proposing the following compliance dates from the time that the final Produce Rule goes into effect:

  • Six years for very small businesses,
  • Five years for small businesses, and
  • Four years for all other farms.

To comment on the proposed legislation please visit the CFSA Comment Page and make your voice heard today!