Vertical Farming / Controlled Environment Food Safety Guidance Workshop Invitation

The FPC, in collaboration with FERA and Scotland Rural College, would like to invite you to a stakeholder workshop to identify the opportunity to develop standardised food safety guidance that can be used by vertical and controlled environment producers.

The aims of the guidance document are to:

• Provide a consistent approach to food safety control in vertical and controlled growing environments
• Use scientifically valid approaches to control measures
• Support your due diligence defence in the event of food safety outbreak
• Support regulatory bodies, auditing bodies and customers during food safety inspections

Workshop

This initial workshop will provide the platform to explore the challenges and opportunities of developing food safety guidance that will benefit the vertical and controlled sector. Further workshops are planned – with a view to producing a guidance document in early 2024.

The themes for initial discussion will be:

• Whether the industry requires Standards or Guidance
• Does the industry require a bespoke food safety standard or is a ‘bolt-on’ approach to existing standards more appropriate?
• The status of ‘ready-to-eat’ products and the management of food safety
• The question of ‘organic’ certification for vertical and controlled environment growing systems

The workshop is planned for

Date: 10am – 13.00pm on Wednesday 20^th September (lunch provided)

Location: Kirkham Room, FERA, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ Directions (fera.co.uk)

You can register for this event here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vertical-farming-controlled-environment-food-safety-guidance-workshop-tickets-701887563597

This workshop and associated development is being funded by the UK Food Safety Research Network (BBSRC & FSA/FSS).