In the middle of 2024, the FDA published a final rule that revised certain agricultural water requirements in the Produce Safety Rule for pre-harvest agricultural water for non-sprout covered produce.
The final rule establishes requirements for systems-based, pre-harvest agricultural water assessments for hazard identification and risk management decision-making. Covered farms that use pre-harvest agricultural water for covered produce (other than sprouts) are required to conduct agricultural water assessments once annually, and whenever a significant change occurs that increases the likelihood that a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard will be introduced into or onto produce or food contact surfaces.