FDA Issues Industry Guidance on Boil-Water Advisories

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued industry guidance to advise food manufacturers on appropriate protocol for dealing with a boil-water advisory. The guidance is also “intended to assist food manufacturers in evaluating food that already was produced with water subject to the advisory.”

According to FDA, once a boil-water advisory has been issued, food manufacturers “should stop using the water subject to the advisory until the water again meets the applicable Federal and State drinking water quality standards.”

The guidance offers assistance to affected manufacturers in evaluating water used in heated foods, ice, bottled water, ready-to-eat foods, and water used for cleaning and hand-washing. The agency issued the guidance in response to the recent boil-water advisory that affected some two million residents of metropolitan Boston. Comments are requested at any time. See Federal Register, May 13, 2010.