The Food and Drug Administration on Monday issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to extend the compliance dates for the pre-harvest agricultural water provisions as outlined in the recent 2021 agricultural water proposed rule.

The 2021 agricultural water proposed rule, if finalized, would require farms to conduct annual systems-based agricultural water assessments to determine and guide appropriate measures to minimize potential risks associated with pre-harvest agricultural water.

The FDA is now proposing extended compliance dates for those proposed pre-harvest requirements and is also providing clarifying information about the enforcement discretion policy for the harvest and post-harvest agricultural water requirements.

The supplemental rulemaking proposes to establish the following compliance dates for the pre-harvest agricultural water requirements for covered produce other than sprouts:

▪ Two years and nine months after the effective date of a final rule for very small businesses;

▪ One year and nine months after the effective date of a final rule for small businesses; and

▪ Nine months after the effective date of a final rule for all other businesses.

FDA said it intends to continue enforcement discretion for the harvest and post-harvest agricultural water requirements of the Produce Safety regulation until the following dates:

▪ January 26, 2025, for very small businesses;

▪ January 26, 2024, for small businesses; and

▪ January 26, 2023, for all other businesses.