Using recycled water for food crops

If you use recycled water to irrigate food crops in the Northern Territory (NT) there are rules you must follow to prevent contaminating your produce.

You risk contaminating food if your recycled water is of a poor quality.

The risk of contamination from recycled water can depend on:

• water quality
• your choice of irrigation system
• the type of crop you are growing
• how you handle the food after harvest
• the processing involved.

Using recycled water

You should only use recycled water if you have had a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) or equivalent food industry risk assessment.

For more information or to find out how to get an assessment, go to the HACCP website.

Guidelines and standards

You should read the code of practice for water recycling.

Code of practice for water recycling PDF (1.1 MB)
Code of practice for water recycling DOCX (778.2 KB)

Food sold in the NT is regulated under the NT Food Act 2004 and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Contact

For more information, contact Environmental Health by going to the Department of Health website.