FDA and EPA Announce First Registered Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water Treatment
November 4, 2024
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announces the successful EPA registration of the first antimicrobial product using the revised efficacy protocol for pre-harvest agricultural water. This registration, a landmark achievement in our collective efforts to improve food safety, marks the first ever approval of a treatment for use against foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella and E. coli, in the agricultural water used to grow produce. The registration was made following ongoing work to develop and refine an efficacy protocol to support registration. Prior to this registration, chemical applications for use in pre-harvest agricultural water were limited to treatment for the management of algae and biofilm formation or produce rot, but this approval sets a critical standard for reducing the presence of human pathogens directly.