Food Protection Trends - November/December 2024 - 400

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
Caroline Motzer1, Ahmed El-Moghazy2,3
Food Protection Trends, Vol 44, No. 6, p. 400-408
https://doi.org/10.4315/FPT-24-017
Copyright©
2024, International Association for Food Protection
2900 100th Street, Suite 309, Des Moines, IA 50322-3855, USA
1Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
2Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
3Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
4Research Group on Microbiology and Quality of Fruit and Vegetables, Food Science and Technology Department, CEBAS-CSIC, PO Box 164, E-30100 Espinardo, Spain
5Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, part of Wageningen University and Research Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, the Netherlands
6Businnes unit Biointeractions and Plant Health, Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708, PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands
7Wageningen Food Safety Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WB Wageningen, the Netherlands
8Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 WG Wageningen, the Netherlands
9Information Technology Group, Wageningen University and Research, 6706 KN, Wageningen, the Netherlands
10Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
11Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
, Nitin Nitin2,10
, Ana Allende4
, Renata Ivanek11
, Maria Isabel Gil4
,
Yannick Weesepoel5, Leo van Overbeek6, Cheng Liu7, Rick van de Zedde8
Yamine Bouzembrak9
,
, and Martin Wiedmann1*
Food Safety Related Data Analytics, Digital, and
Artificial Intelligence Needs and Opportunities in
Controlled Environment Agriculture
ABSTRACT
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is increasingly
used to grow food (namely fruits and vegetables) in controlled
indoor conditions. While often billed as " eliminating "
the classical food safety concerns associated with open
field cultivation of produce, traditional as well as potentially
novel microbial food safety risks are a concern for CEA,
as supported by a recent salmonellosis outbreak in the
U.S. linked to CEA grown produce. In addition, the use of
diverse technologies and practices in CEA represents a
challenge in efforts to develop food safety guidance. CEA,
particularly precision vertical farms, however, have the distinct
advantage of being " data intense " and typically have a
better data collection and management structure than is
found in traditional agriculture. This may position at least
part of the industry to use digital tools digital tools and
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to manage manage food safety.
Possible AI approaches may include adaptive sampling and
interventions depending on the presence of risk factors
that could be predicted with the routine data generated
during CEA operations. This article summarizes challenges
and opportunities for using AI and digital approaches to assure
microbial food safety and manage food safety related
business risks in CEA.
OVERVIEW OF CEA
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is a rapidly
growing sector (79) due to its use of agricultural techniques
to create specific and precisely controlled environments
directed towards efficient plant production using limited inputs
(6, 23). CEA encompasses a wide array of technologies
ranging from " low tech " traditional greenhouses to advanced
and more automated soilless " high tech " and closed loop
vertical farms. Currently, CEA production largely focuses on
specialty crops (e.g., leafy greens, herbs, microgreens, tomatoes),
but the term CEA can also include indoor production
of mushrooms, fish, and even insects (17, 23, 34). CEA is
most commonly divided into soilless growing methods (such
as hydroponics) and traditional growing methods (utilizing
pots with soil) (35). Both formats use various inputs, including
growing media, lighting systems, and structural systems
(55). Most CEA systems are characterized by a wide array
*Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 607.254.2838; Email: martin.wiedmann@cornell.edu
400 Food Protection Trends November/December
https://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/nov-dec-24-Motzer.pdf https://www.doi.org/10.4315/FPT-24-017
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