TY - JOUR
T1 - Review of water quality criteria for water reuse and risk-based implications for irrigated produce under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, produce safety rule
AU - Rock, Channah M.
AU - Brassill, Natalie
AU - Dery, Jessica L.
AU - Carr, Dametreea
AU - McLain, Jean E.
AU - Bright, Kelly R.
AU - Gerba, Charles P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Samir Assar from the FDA; and Vicki Scott and Teressa Lopez for their industry insight and continued support. The authors would also like to thank Akrum Tamimi for running the computational model. This work was supported by the Center for Produce Safety , Grant number SCB11069 and the United States Department of Agriculture- National Institute of Food and Agriculture , Grant number 20166800725064 awarded to the University of Maryland School of Public Health , that established CONSERVE: A Center of Excellence at the Nexus of Sustainable Water Reuse, Food and Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2019/5
Y1 - 2019/5
N2 - Questions related to the safety of alternative water sources, such as recycled water or reclaimed water (including grey water, produced water, return flows, and recycled wastewater), for produce production have been largely un-explored at the detail warranted for protection of public health. Additionally, recent outbreaks of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in fresh produce, in which agricultural water was suspected as the source, coupled with heightened media coverage, have elevated fruit and vegetable safety into the forefront of public attention. Exacerbating these concerns, new Federal regulations released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), require testing of agricultural water quality for generic E. coli. Here, we present a review of water quality criteria – including surface water, groundwater recreational water, and water reuse – in an attempt to better understand implications of new FDA regulations on irrigated produce. In addition, a Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) was conducted to estimate risks from pathogen contamination of food crops eaten fresh under the context of FDA regulations to provide perspective on current water reuse regulations across the country. Results indicate that irrigation water containing 126 CFU/100 mL of E. coli correspond to a risk of GI illness (diarrhea) of 9 cases in 100,000,000 persons (a 0.000009% risk) for subsurface irrigation, 1.1 cases in 100,000 persons (a 0.0011% risk) for furrow irrigation, and 1.1 cases in 1000 persons (a 0.11% risk) for sprinkler irrigation of lettuce. In comparison to metrics in states that currently regulate the use of recycled water for irrigation of food crops eaten fresh, the FDA FSMA water quality metrics are less stringent and therefore the use of recycled water presents a reduced risk to consumers than the FDA regulations. These findings, while limited to a one-time exposure event of lettuce irrigated with water meeting FSMA water quality regulations, highlight the need for additional assessments to determine if the scientific-basis of the regulation is protective of public health.
AB - Questions related to the safety of alternative water sources, such as recycled water or reclaimed water (including grey water, produced water, return flows, and recycled wastewater), for produce production have been largely un-explored at the detail warranted for protection of public health. Additionally, recent outbreaks of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in fresh produce, in which agricultural water was suspected as the source, coupled with heightened media coverage, have elevated fruit and vegetable safety into the forefront of public attention. Exacerbating these concerns, new Federal regulations released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), require testing of agricultural water quality for generic E. coli. Here, we present a review of water quality criteria – including surface water, groundwater recreational water, and water reuse – in an attempt to better understand implications of new FDA regulations on irrigated produce. In addition, a Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) was conducted to estimate risks from pathogen contamination of food crops eaten fresh under the context of FDA regulations to provide perspective on current water reuse regulations across the country. Results indicate that irrigation water containing 126 CFU/100 mL of E. coli correspond to a risk of GI illness (diarrhea) of 9 cases in 100,000,000 persons (a 0.000009% risk) for subsurface irrigation, 1.1 cases in 100,000 persons (a 0.0011% risk) for furrow irrigation, and 1.1 cases in 1000 persons (a 0.11% risk) for sprinkler irrigation of lettuce. In comparison to metrics in states that currently regulate the use of recycled water for irrigation of food crops eaten fresh, the FDA FSMA water quality metrics are less stringent and therefore the use of recycled water presents a reduced risk to consumers than the FDA regulations. These findings, while limited to a one-time exposure event of lettuce irrigated with water meeting FSMA water quality regulations, highlight the need for additional assessments to determine if the scientific-basis of the regulation is protective of public health.
KW - E. coli
KW - Food Safety Modernization Act
KW - Irrigation water
KW - Produce Safety Rule
KW - Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment
KW - Reclaimed Water
KW - Recycled Water
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062835208&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85062835208&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2018.12.050
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2018.12.050
M3 - Article
C2 - 30878733
AN - SCOPUS:85062835208
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 172
SP - 616
EP - 629
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
ER -