FDA offers webinar to address Agricultural Water Rule
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The FDA has announced that it will offer a few virtual webinars. The first webinar was held on May 20, which addressed the standards for growing, harvesting, packing and holding produce. The second webinar will be held on May 29, which will address the impacts to the blueberry industry.
What is the Agricultural Water Rule?
The FDA published a final rule on agricultural water that is design to enhance the safety of produce. “The revised requirements are intended to enhance public health by improving the safety of water used in produce cultivation. The revisions are also designed to be practical across various agricultural water systems, uses, and practices, while remaining adaptable to future advancements in agricultural water quality science,” the FDA noted in a recent email announcing the webinars.The new FDA rule updates pre-harvest water safety for produce and reeplaces the 2015 standards. The FDA’s email noted that farms must now conduct annual assessments evaluating contamination risks, which include water system evaluation, testing in specific cases and implementing mitigation measures within set timeframes. Expedited mitigation is required for hazards from nearby land, according to the summary the FDA provided in its email, which also noted that the rule offers flexibility with new mitigation options.