Health and Human Services Department, Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is proposing to amend the agricultural water provisions of the produce safety regulation that covered farms have found complex and challenging to implement. This proposal would replace the microbial criteria and testing requirements for pre-harvest agricultural water for covered produce (other than sprouts) with provisions for systems-based agricultural water assessments that are designed to be more feasible to implement across the wide variety of agricultural water systems, uses, and practices, while also being adaptable to future advancements in agricultural water quality science and achieving improved public health protections. Additionally, we are proposing to require expedited mitigation for hazards related to certain activities associated with adjacent and nearby lands, in light of findings from several recent produce outbreak investigations. These proposed revisions to the produce safety regulation, if finalized, would more comprehensively address a known route of microbial contamination that can lead to preventable foodborne illness that is a significant public health problem.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 112 [Docket No. FDA-2021-N-0471] RIN 0910-AI49 AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is proposing to amend the agricultural water provisions of the produce safety regulation that covered farms have found complex and challenging to implement. This proposal would replace the microbial criteria and testing requirements for pre-harvest agricultural water for covered produce (other than sprouts) with provisions for systems-based agricultural water assessments that are designed to be more feasible to implement across the wide variety of agricultural water systems, uses, and practices, while also being adaptable to future advancements in agricultural water quality science and achieving improved public health protections. Additionally, we are proposing to require expedited mitigation for hazards related to certain activities associated with adjacent and nearby lands, in light of findings from several recent produce outbreak investigations. These proposed revisions to the produce safety regulation, if finalized, would more comprehensively address a known route of microbial contamination that can lead to preventable foodborne illness that is a significant public health problem. DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the proposed rule by April 5, 2022. Submit comments on information…
Other Federal Register documents from the same docket.
Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption Relating to Agricultural Water
Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption Relating to Agricultural Water
Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption Relating to Agricultural Water; Proposed Rule; Public Meetings; Request for Comments
Citation: 86 FR 69120
