Food Safety Water Rules Getting Stricter
June 13, 2014 
Water has been high on the agenda for Florida farmers for years. Regulations like total maximum daily loads and dealing with drought and flood cycles have added significant challenges to producing crops in the state.
Enter the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and the water component of agriculture will get a little more complicated as new standards are applied to water quality for irrigation and postharvest uses.
Many growers are most concerned about water testing and treatment requirements under the new law. Dr. Keith Schneider, a food science professor with the University of Florida, has traveled the state and beyond to help growers get geared up for what’s to come with FSMA.
During the Southeast Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Schneider addressed water and food safety to “beat the dead horse,” as he put it. He said water contamination is a central focus of FSMA rules and will for the first time place measurable standards on the water farmers use to grow crops.
That is a big change from the old standard set forth by the FDA in 1998 with its “Guide To Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards For Fresh Fruit And Vegetables.”
“The report said water should be adequate for its intended use,” Schneider said. “But, what does adequate mean? What ended up happening was there really was no standard. So adequate became, ‘I’ve been using this water for 30 years and have not made anybody sick yet, so I’ll keep using it.’ Well that might have been adequate, but that doesn’t mean safe.
“It makes a lot of sense that water is an important part of FSMA,” he said. “Water is used for everything from pre-production to post-production. It is going to irrigate your crops, it is going to wash your equipment before it goes into the field, it is going to wash the hands of your harvesters, and it is going to be used in your packing lines.”
If anywhere along the way contaminated water finds its way into the chain, growers risk a serious foodborne illness disaster, or under the coming rules, possible fines and corrective actions.
Are You Affected?
According to Schneider, the best place to start is determining whether FSMA applies to your farm. “If you fall under $25,000 in annual food sales, you don’t really have to worry about FSMA,” he said. “You should still worry about food safety, but the regulations will not affect you.”
Those falling between $25,000 and $250,000 in sales will fall under the Tester Amendment of the law. If a farmer is growing a crop that is categorized as potentially hazardous, then it would fall under the rule. But, growers selling direct to the end-user (50% of sales or more) would be exempt.
Any farm selling more than $500,000 annually must comply with the proposed rules.
Water Standards For All
While there is no national standard for water quality up until FSMA, there are a couple of regional programs including Florida’s Tomato GAPs and the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement.
“Florida tomato growers took a proactive approach and came up with their T-GAP regulations,” Schneider said. “Anything that touches the tomato is going to be potable or basically drinking water quality. That was a big leap.”
Under FSMA, any water that touches the product during and after harvest must have no generic E. coli in 100 milliliters (ml) of water. This also includes water used to make agricultural tea, to clean food contact surfaces, and wash hands of those coming in contact with the crop.
“What’s different is FDA now is actually giving you a prescribed number, literally saying you can’t have any E. coli in postharvest water,” Schneider said. “What about preharvest and irrigation water? That is a big source of water and a lot of water to treat. They relaxed that a bit to the recreational water standard. That is less than 235 E. coli in 100 ml. of water in a single sample and less than 126 E. coli in 100 ml. (5 samples rolling geometric mean).
“Just keep in mind, these are all proposed rules and changes are likely by the time the final regulation is released.”
Testing Frequency
FSMA will require everybody to test water at the beginning of the season and every three months. Untreated surface water not subject to runoff must be tested monthly. Surface water that is subject to runoff is where the most angst has come about because it will require testing every seven days. Public water sources will need no testing because it already has been treated.
“You will be testing the source of the water, not the point of use,” he said. “That might be difficult depending on where the source is and if you are using more than one source of water, which will require more testing and costs.”
As the FSMA rule is proposed, there will be no alternatives or variances in testing frequency. “This is the hardest pill for people to swallow because it is the most prescriptive thing set out in the rules. It has been the most debated because the costs can get high, especially for a small- to medium-sized grower.”
Records Required
Schneider concluded his comments by saying keeping thorough records of testing and treatment of water is a must regardless of what food safety program a grower is following.
“From a legal standpoint, you must have records and be able to prove you have done something,” he said. “Without records, you are basically out of luck, especially if you are in the court of law — you will lose.”
Schneider advised growers to get familiar with the law now because there is a lot of legalese to work through. “Start now,” he said. “You will have plenty of time to ease into these rules. The earlier you start, the better off you will be.”
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