FAO, WHO Release Report on Chemical Food Safety Risks from Water Use in Agrifood Systems

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the World Health Organization (WHO), released a report, Prioritizing food safety issues related to chemical water quality in agrifood systems, highlighting approaches for identifying and prioritizing food safety risks from waterborne chemical hazards. It aims to support national and regional authorities, along with stakeholders in the water and agrifood sectors, in assessing chemical hazards, as well as characterizing and managing food safety risks in agrifood water use.

Reliable access to sufficient and safe water is essential for food security; however, water systems globally are under unprecedented pressure. Agriculture accounts for over 70% of freshwater withdrawals, and growing challenges, such as climate change, population growth and societal changes, are increasing water demand. This often leads to the use of alternative water sources that may be of lower or unknown quality. While progress has been made in identifying microbial risks in agrifood water sources, guidance on chemical hazards remains limited.

“With water playing a critical role in the agrifood sector, assessing chemical hazards in water used for agrifood production is essential to ensure safe food,” said Magdalena Niegowska Conforti, FAO food safety consultant. “In our joint FAO/WHO report, we focus on the food safety considerations for agricultural water use, emphasizing the crucial role of food safety foresight in identifying and addressing emerging food safety issues.”

The report highlights that many chemical contaminants in agrifood water sources lack food safety risk management guidelines, a gap that requires urgent attention. Emerging challenges, such as climate change, advances in chemistry, the use of alternative water sources, new food production systems, chemical mixtures, antimicrobial resistance and growing digital technologies further influence water use and recycling, raising additional food safety concerns.

To improve understanding of potential risks, the report presents a three-stage prioritization exercise to identify and qualitatively assess key chemical hazards in agrifood water: firstly, compiling examples of reported chemical hazards in water sources; secondly, qualitatively assessing their potential uptake into different food production systems; and thirdly, compiling reported exposures from waterborne sources entering the diet.

The publication also outlines that addressing waterborne chemical contaminant risks requires improved and standardized assessment of dietary exposure, while recognizing the interconnections between water scarcity, food security, animal, crop, environmental and human health. Risk management measures should follow the One Health approach, ensuring the protection of human and animal health, as well as the environment.

“Conducting a comprehensive assessment of a wide range of chemicals in water for agrifood system was the first attempt in the world,” said Akio Hasegawa, WHO technical officer. “I am honored to have been involved in this important project together with FAO and the world’s leading experts. I hope that our report will serve as a basis for making more effective safety measures in countries and support discussions at Codex Alimentarius.”

This work was made possible with the support of the government of Canada.

The publication is available for download on the FAO website and the WHO website.