Agricultural Water & Produce Safety
According to the Produce Safety Rule agricultural water is water that is intended to, or likely to, contact covered produce or food contact surfaces during growing, harvesting, packing, and holding activities. The Produce Safety Rule requires that all agricultural water must be safe and of adequate sanitary quality for its intended use.
Farms covered by (subject to) the Produce Safety Rule are required to comply with all agricultural water requirements. The PSR Ag Water Requirements Summary resource highlights the main requirements covered farms must adhere to and includes a list of water testing lab locations in Montana.
Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water
In 2024, the FDA published the final revised requirements for pre-harvest agricultural water. The revised requirements replace the previous microbial quality criteria and testing requirements with a systems-based, pre-harvest agricultural water assessment.
Under the revised rule, covered farms using pre-harvest agricultural water for covered produce must conduct an annual written agricultural water assessment. This assessment will be used for risk management and decision-making purposes related to pre-harvest agricultural water. The assessment will review your farm’s agricultural water system(s), agricultural water practices, crop characteristics, environmental conditions, and other relevant factors. Covered farms may be exempt from assessments if they meet specific requirements for their pre-harvest agricultural water. Exemption eligibility requirements are referenced in this FDA factsheet.
The compliance dates for pre-harvest agricultural water are as follows:
- April 2025 – businesses with more than $500k in annual sales
- April 2026 – businesses with $250k to $500k in annual sales
- April 2027 – businesses with $25k to $250k in annual sales
To learn more about the pre-harvest agricultural water requirements you can review the following resources:
- FSMA Final Rule on Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water
- FDA’s Agricultural Water Assessment Builder Tool
- PSR Ag Water Requirements Summary
- FDA Fact Sheet: FSMA Final Rule on Pre-harvest Agricultural Water
- FDA Fact Sheet: FSMA Final Rule on Pre-harvest Agricultural Water: Corrective and Mitigation Measures for Pre-harvest Agricultural Water for Non-Sprout Covered Produce
- FDA Fact Sheet: Annual Agricultural Water Assessments and Risk-Based Outcomes
- FDA Fact Sheet: FSMA Final Rule on Pre-harvest Agricultural Water: Factors for Agricultural Water Assessment to Consider
Harvest and Post-Harvest Agricultural Water
The requirements for harvest and post-harvest agricultural water have not changed and are now in effect for farms of all sizes.
To learn more about the harvest and post-harvest agricultural water requirements you can review the following resources:
- Requirements for Harvest and Post-Harvest Agricultural Water
- PSR Ag Water Requirements Summary
- FDA Fact sheet: Equivalent Testing Methodology for Agricultural Water
- National Water Quality Test Labs Map (note: not all labs are included)
Montana Rules & Code: Produce
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