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Abstract：
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.
摘要：
与替代水源安全有关的问题，如循环水或再生水(包括灰水，产出水,回流，和再生废水)，在保护公众健康所需的细节上，产品生产在很大程度上没有得到探索。此外,最近爆发的大肠杆菌(E.大肠杆菌)在新鲜农产品中，其中农业用水被怀疑是水源，加上媒体报道的增加，将水果和蔬菜安全提升到公众关注的最前沿。加剧了这些担忧，美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）发布了新的联邦法规，作为实施FDA食品安全现代化法案（FSMA）的一部分，需要对普通大肠杆菌的农业水质进行测试。这里,我们对水质标准进行了审查-包括地表水，地下水娱乐用水，和水回用-试图更好地了解新的FDA法规对灌溉产品的影响。此外,进行了定量微生物风险评估（QMRA），以评估在FDA法规的背景下新鲜食用的粮食作物的病原体污染风险，以提供对当前全国水回用法规的看法。结果表明，含有126CFU/100mL大肠杆菌的灌溉水相当于100,000,000人中有9例发生胃肠道疾病（腹泻）的风险（风险为0.000009％）进行地下灌溉。100,000人中有1.1例沟灌（风险为0.0011％），1000人中有1.1例(风险为0.11%)喷灌生菜。与目前规范使用循环水灌溉新鲜食用的粮食作物的国家的指标相比，FDAFSMA水质指标不太严格，因此使用循环水对消费者的风险比FDA法规降低。这些发现,虽然仅限于一次性接触符合FSMA水质规定的用水灌溉生菜，强调需要进行额外的评估，以确定该法规的科学依据是否保护公众健康。
