By reducing exposure to the chemicals used in traditional agriculture and controlling the quality of water and plant nutrients, hydroponics can help to improve food safety.
To guarantee food safety, you need to effectively control the emergence and spread of pathogens that can cause disease in your crops.
Hydroponics, which is a soil-less method of growing crops and is mainly practised in a controlled environment, reduces the occurrence of diseases that can be transmitted to crops.
However, hydroponic crops often have humidity levels that can encourage the emergence of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and fungi, which represent major food safety risks.
Furthermore, disease control must be focused from a preventive point of view rather than just curative, making it not based solely on the application of chemical products, but rather these are the complement of other measures implemented.
Would you like to reduce the risk of diseases appearing and spreading in your crops? Read on to find out how.
What can be grown hydroponically?
Almost any type of plant can be grown hydroponically, but some plants are particularly profitable in this growing system, for example:
- Vegetables: broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, celery, leek, peas, spinach, cucumber, carrot, beetroot, onion, aubergine, pepper, radish, tomato, courgette.
- Fruit: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, melons, and even some tree fruits such as apples and lemons, using dwarf trees.
- Herbs: coriander, basil, mint, sage, thyme, tarragon, rosemary.
Food safety in hydroponics
In the context of horticulture, food safety refers to the measures and practices implemented to ensure that fruit, vegetables and other horticultural crops are fit for human consumption. From the choice of seed to the point of sale, each stage must be managed with a focus on safety and risk prevention.
Hydroponics, as a method of growing crops in a controlled environment, provides better control of the various diseases that can be transmitted to food, but it is not exempt from them.
The high humidity conditions that characterize this type of production (particularly in greenhouses) can lead to the infection, development and spread of phytopathogenic organisms. Common pathogens associated with foodborne illness – Fresh produce: norovirus, salmonella, E. coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes and hepatitis A.
Let's look at the three most important points for maintaining food safety in hydroponics:
1. Food safety
Hydroponic plant production reduces the incidence of soil-associated diseases, such as :
- Seedling drop: caused by a complex of fungi that naturally inhabit the soil, such as Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Botrytis, Fusarium, among others.
- Root rot: caused by fungi of the Phytophthora genus.
- Conductive vessel necrosis: associated with Fusarium and Verticillium species.
However, although this production method works as a control mechanism for these pathologies, it is necessary to check that the substrate used and the irrigation water are not contaminated, as the severity of the disease can be greater than in the case of traditional soil cultivation.
As well as diseases caused by living (biotic) agents, there are also other diseases caused by abiotic agents, known as disorders. In hydroponic crops, these diseases can be caused by :
- Poor irrigation management
- Toxicity caused by incorrect application of pesticides or other agrochemicals
- Excess or lack of certain nutrients
- Inappropriate temperature
- Inadequate pH.
This is why it is important to take into account factors such as pH and electrical conductivity, to use a nutrient solution suited to the needs of the crop and to consider the temperature required for the species grown.
In addition, it is important to ensure effective disease control, not only when the crop has already been affected, but also as a preventive measure, before pathogens are detected on the plants.
2. How can food safety risks in controlled environment agriculture be prevented?
Risk assessment is essential to prevent, identify and analyse potential hazards during the production stages of materials used in hydroponic food production, and the best way to start is to analyse the process flow.
3. How can food-borne illness be prevented in hydroponics?
- Reduce sources of infection by eliminating surrounding weeds and residues from previous crops, and by using healthy seeds and plants.
- Avoid conditions that encourage the development of the disease by using sowing and planting densities that allow adequate aeration and by using balanced fertilization.
- Reduce the risk of spreading the pathogen by disinfecting all elements in the supply chain, such as tools, shoes, hands and the greenhouse structure, and by controlling insects that transmit the disease.
In this sense, training in food safety, maintaining clean environments and enforcing good hygiene for workers is key to preventing diseases that can be transmitted to food in hydroponics.
Choosing quality suppliers and adopting effective treatment options can also help.
Jiffy's work on food safety in hydroponics
Jiffy is one of the only companies in the market to be ISO 22000 certified for substrate production. We achieved ISO 22000 certification for our first factory, Jiffy Sri Lanka, in 2018, and completed the rigorous process for all our global sites in 2023. Jiffy is the first and only company in the global substrates industry to receive this recognition.
Our customers include many producers of food crops such as strawberries, walnuts, blueberries and salads. These crops are often eaten raw and therefore present the greatest risk to consumers in terms of pathogens and microbial hazards.
Growing media are the most important stage in the production of agricultural products," explains Bart Kraan, QHES Manager at Jiffy, "which is why we take our role in the production chain very seriously. Even though we don't produce food ourselves".
ISO 22000 food safety certification is proof that Jiffy supports its customers in preventing and mitigating these risks. To maintain strict ISO standards, we have dedicated Food Safety Teams at all of our plants, led by the Global Food Safety Team. The multidisciplinary teams have established preventive strategies that include:
- Working constantly to minimize the risk of contamination throughout our supply chain, from the harvesting of raw materials to the delivery of finished products to our customers.
- Using the highest quality raw materials and other inputs.
- Training our staff in food safety to raise awareness of responsible production and consumption.
- Continuous assessment of chemical, physical and biological risks.
- Maintaining contaminant-free environments during storage, production and shipping.
All Jiffy products are now manufactured in certified food safety sites. Above all, Jiffy minimizes the risk of contamination throughout its supply chain, from raw material harvesting to product delivery, by continuously identifying, assessing and analyzing potential hazards. This includes our organic options and innovative products such as sustainable peat-free growing media. It also includes our solutions for hydroponics. Vertical farming is no less risky than traditional farming in terms of exposure to pathogens. In fact, the natural resistance of foods grown in CEA is relatively low.
"We want to develop new ways of solving these complex problems," says Janaka Weerasuriya, Head of the Global Food Safety Team at Jiffy and Global Director of QHES. "For faster responses, Jiffy collaborates with customers, universities and other players in the food chain".
To ensure success, we adhere to a set of sustainable principles and requirements. We are committed to continuous improvement in health and safety, quality, food safety and environmentally friendly solutions.
