Online water management platform gaining global traction
Recent headlines haven’t made for easy reading for produce growers and processors. Foodborne illness traced back to contaminated fruits or vegetables is grabbing readers’ attention, with warnings about avoiding fresh-cut fruits or bagged greens.
An online search produces alarming examples. There’s the 100-plus reported E.coli cases linked to processed onions from a well-known fast food chain in October 2024 and salmonella-contaminated cucumbers that sickened people across 34 states last October and November.
Such cases underscore the imperative to improve food safety anywhere contamination can take place in a processing facility. This includes process water, which can be used to wash or move fruits and vegetables.
Launched in January by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), WaterManage4You is a new, free online tool that aims to help produce processors improve food safety in process water.
Available worldwide, the platform is based on extensive studies by ESFA experts on how to stem the appearance of dangerous microorganisms in process water. The development was spurred by recent outbreaks in Europe caused by pathogens such as listeria and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) linked to the consumption of fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and herbs.
FLUSHING OUT SOLUTIONS
Based in Parma, Italy, Maria Teresa Da Silva Felício was part of the team that developed the WaterManage4You tool as the EFSA’s biological hazards team’s scientific officer.
“The aim was to complement our scientific opinions with a user-friendly tool that allows food business operators (FBOs) using water in the handling and processing of fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables and herbs to optimize the management of such process water,” she said.
Starting as an internal proposal in 2021 before extensive data gathering from 2022-2024, the development of the platform was a lengthy process that involved analyzing different handling and operation scenarios in industry settings across the EU.
Bringing together opinions and testimonies from a wide range of stakeholders with differing goals — including research institutions, scientists, industry professionals and authorities — was in itself a challenge, Da Silva Felício said. Reaching a common consensus required coordination and investment from all interested partners.
However, the final conclusions made clear what was lacking across much of the industry.
“The analysis of the collected industrial data led us to realize that there is a lack of awareness and knowledge on process water management,” Da Silva Felício said. “This triggered the interest in developing a tool that helps FBOs to understand and implement appropriate intervention strategies to maintain the fit-for-purpose quality of their process waters during the operational cycle.”
All the data gathered was used to develop and feed the model, which was translated in the WaterManage4You app.
From an early stage of its development, the EFSA scientists made sure food processors were involved in determining the direction the app would take by sharing one of the initial prototypes, collecting first impressions and implementing suggestions as much as possible, Da Silva Felício said.
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
WaterManage4You is built around what Da Silva Felício described as a “unique mathematical model” which simulates contamination in water typically used for processing and handling fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables and herbs.
The system also predicts the impact of different intervention strategies for water disinfection and replenishment, taking into account parameters specific for each operation, such as the volume of the washing tank or total volume of the product being washed.
Users can either utilize preset, sector-specific data — such as whole produce, fresh-cut or frozen produce — or upload industry data to tailor simulations to processing conditions. This last option helps processors better understand their process water situation and explore strategies to improve its management, Da Silva Felício said.
One key feature of the platform is its ability to run what-if scenarios, designed to help companies select the most suitable strategy for their needs. As an example, Da Silva Felício said users can determine their lowest possible chlorine disinfectant concentration and water replenishment rate for simultaneously maintaining overall bacteria counts in the process water below a certain threshold.
Now finalized, the WaterManage4You app has been utilized more than 500 times since January by 326 distinct users in nine European countries and the U.S., Da Silva Felício said.
“WaterManage4You is already freely accessible worldwide,” she said. “Anyone, regardless of location, can register in the R4EU platform and use the app with the pre-defined, sector-specific dataset or upload their own industrial data as input.”
Da Silva Felício said the EFSA welcomes additional data that could make the app better.
“The app is publicly available, and it would be great to see it being further improved by any interested party,” she said.
