Thumbnail Image

Safety and Quality of Water Used in Food Production and Processing

Meeting report

Year of publication 2019

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 100 p.

Author FAO/WHO

Publisher FAO ; WHO ;

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 978-92-5-131808-9

Series title Microbiological Risk Assessment Series

Series number 33

Synopsis (short abstract) Water is a major input in food, from primary production through all stages in the food value chain to consumption. The safest option in food production might be the use of water only of potable or drinking water quality; however, this is often not a feasible, practical or responsible solution and water of different quality could be fit for some purposes, provided it does not compromise the safety of the final product for the consumer. When used alone, numbers of E. coli present in water are not an appropriate measure of water safety. Instead, an assessment of the fitness-for-purpose and the microbiological criteria of water required to maintain product safety should be risk-based. Decision trees and matrices were developed to assist stakeholders in making decisions on the water’s fitness in fresh produce productions, fishery products and water reuse scenarios. Communication tools, including education and training and programmes to encourage behaviour change, are essential for effective risk management of water use in food chains.

Last updated 18/10/2023

Cite this content as:

FAO and WHO. 2019. Safety and Quality of Water Used in Food Production and Processing – Meeting report. Microbiological Risk Assessment Series no. 33. Rome.


https://doi.org/10.4060/CA6062EN

Language English

Also available in:

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • No Thumbnail Available
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Safety and quality of water use and reuse in the production and processing of dairy products
    Meeting report
    2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Water is used for a wide range of activities in the dairy sector, which consumes a substantial volume of first-use drinking water for production processes, cleaning and disinfection. There is a great potential to exploit possible sources of reusable water in the dairy sector.In 2020, the 43rd session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission approved the new work entitled “Development of Guidelines for the Safe Use and Reuse of Water in Food Production” proposed by the 51st session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. To support this work, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) was asked to provide scientific advice regarding safe use and reuse of water in the dairy sector. JEMRA convened an online meeting from 14 June to 2 July 2021 to provide clear and practical guidance on risk-based approaches to assess and manage fit-for-purpose water sourcing, use and reuse in the dairy sector. This report describes the output of this meeting to support the decision-making when applying the concept of fit-for-purpose water for use in the production and processing of dairy products.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Safety and quality of water used in the production and processing of fish and fishery products
    Meeting report
    2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    In 2020, the 43rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission approved the “Development of Guidelines for the Safe Use and Reuse of Water in Food Production” proposed at the 51st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. To support this work, JEMRA was asked to provide scientific advice on sector-specific applications and case studies for determining appropriate and fit-for-purpose microbiological criteria for water sourcing, use and reuse in fish and fishery products from primary production to retail. This report presented the outcome from the JEMRA meeting, which includes the: situation analysis concerning water use and reuse in the production and processing of fish and fishery products, analysis of case studies for different risk-based water use and reuse processing scenarios and species, water quality monitoring and the use of non-culture based microbiological methods, recommendations concerning the safety and quality of water used in fish production and processing, and critical research gaps and policy developments.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.