Setting a new a new precedent for preharvest food safety interventions, the first-ever registration of an antimicrobial treatment for foodborne pathogens in preharvest agricultural water has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published the long-anticipated Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water Final Rule, fulfilling Subpart E of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule.

A study aims to determine how irrigation water that is treated to control microbial activity may affect pathogens on crop surfaces or soil, with the end goal of developing a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for industry to gauge the reduction in microbial risk from treated water applied preharvest.

The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has published an industry guidance to help stakeholders comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA’s) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR), Subpart E requirements for agricultural water.

Researchers at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are researching a sunlight-based method for controlling microbial contaminants—specifically, Salmonella and Escherichia coli—in irrigation water used for food crops. After enough research is conducted, the UGA team hopes to create an app that will help growers enhance food safety.

Two reports by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) have advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) on microbial testing of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and the safety of recycled water in food production, respectively.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update the protocol for the development and registration of antimicrobial treatments for preharvest agricultural water, removing Listeria monocytogenes from the organism test panel.