Modern indoor farming and food safety
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Indoor farming has a long history, with greenhouses being used for centuries to improve productivity and the availability of various plant-based products. In the new generation of indoor farming, the production of short-term crops such as microgreens and baby leaf, along with mature leafy greens that are traditionally cultivated outdoors, has become commercially viable. The perceived benefits of indoor farming include contributing to sustainability, adaptability to climate change and improving food security. It is also often assumed that the controlled environment offers better management of food safety risks than conventional agriculture, though this has not been fully validated. This document explores both the perceived and the actual benefits of indoor farming and describes various growing systems to examine related food safety concerns. Based on current evidence, food safety issues linked to indoor-farmed crops are generally similar to those found in conventional outdoor farming. These issues primarily relate to inputs such as seeds, growth substrates and water, as well as operations that share features with sprouted seed production. The focus of this document is largely on microbiological hazards, which dominate both the literature and the real-world risks due to the high-humidity, water-based systems commonly used in indoor farming. However, chemical hazards are also addressed, particularly those arising from environmental contamination or equipment-related materials. The document is intended to support food safety competent authorities in identifying key elements for inclusion in food safety programmes and regulatory frameworks related to indoor farmed crops.