Designing a microbiological management framework for agricultural water integrating indicator and pathogen monitoring

Fresh produce is consumed with minimal processing, making preharvest irrigation water a critical pathway for microbial contamination. International practice commonly adopts Escherichia coli as an indicator and applies tiered, risk-based oversight, yet criteria and implementation vary across sources and crops. This study synthesizes foreign regulatory models and translates them into operational guidance for Korea by combining indicator enumeration with pathogen specific detection. Emphasis is placed on sampling design because volume, filtration, and assay choice shape detection probabilities and cross study comparability. The framework stratifies monitoring by water-body, season, and region, standardizes minimum metadata and reporting, pairs culture methods with qPCR for sen- sitivity at low concentrations, and recommends method equivalency testing and routine quality control. Short term priorities include equivalency studies across representative waters and field ready SOPs. Mid to long term priorities institutionalize risk based sampling and establish a national data standardization consortium.