Reclaimed wastewater: preventing viral pathogens on plant foods

Note: the original source of this report is the BfR website – see BfR Opinion No 019/2022 issued 8 July 2022

Climatic changes are increasing the pressure on water resources in Germany and Europe. To counter this pressure, the use of reclaimed wastewater for agricultural irrigation has le- gally been made possible at the European level. Different methods of wastewater treatment are available. Uniform minimum requirements for water reuse are intended to ensure human and animal health as well as environmental protection. The presence of viral pathogens in wastewater poses a major challenge in this context. Against this background, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has evaluated scientific literature on the health risk of using reclaimed wastewater for the irrigation of plants used as food with regard to viral pathogens. The particular focus is on fruit and vegetables that are consumed raw, where possible pathogens are not reduced or killed by heating.