The FDA has released paper-based versions of its agricultural water assessment builder tool in both English and Spanish. The agricultural water assessment builder was released in March 2022 as user-friendly, online tool to help farms understand the proposed requirements for an agricultural water assessment in the Agricultural Water Proposed Rule. The paper-based versions of the tool will make the content more accessible to a broader array of users. Use of the online tool, and its paper-based companions, is optional.
If finalized, the proposed rule would require farms to conduct systems-based agricultural water assessments to determine and guide appropriate measures to minimize potential risks associated with pre-harvest agricultural water. The assessment would include an evaluation of the water system, agricultural water use practices, crop characteristics, environmental conditions, potential impacts on source water by activities conducted on adjacent and nearby land, and other relevant factors, such as the results of optional testing. Covered farms would be required to conduct pre-harvest agricultural water assessments annually and whenever a significant change occurs that affects the likelihood that a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard will be introduced into or onto produce or food contact surfaces.
We welcome feedback on the online and paper-based versions of the tool, such as suggestions related to the tool’s functionality and useability. Feedback on the tool can be sent to agwaterbuilder@fda.hhs.gov.
For Additional Information
- FDA Launches Agricultural Water Assessment Builder to Help Farms Understand Agricultural Water Proposed Rule Requirements
- Agricultural Water Assessment Builder Information Page
- Federal Register Notice announcing the Proposed Rule
- FSMA Proposed Rule on Agricultural Water
- FSMA Final Rule on Produce Safety
- Final Qualitative Assessment of Risk to Public Health from On-Farm Contamination of Produce
- La FDA publica versiones impresas en español e inglés de la herramienta de evaluación de agua de uso agrícola
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