During National Food Safety Education Month, the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) will host a free, three-part webinar series on produce safety in hydroponic and aquaponic operations. The webinars will be led by Sean Fogarty, M.Sc., a Research Specialist at NECAFS.

The series will provide an introductory overview of produce safety considerations specific to the unique features of hydroponic and aquaponic operations. The webinars are standalone and material from each event will not build upon one another, so interested persons are encouraged to attend one or two of the sessions even if they cannot attend all three.

Registration is required for the webinars. Dates, times, and topics of the webinar series are as follows:

• September 19, 2023 at 2:00 P.M. ET:  “Introduction to Hydroponic and Aquaponic Growing Systems”
• October 10, 2023 at 2:00 P.M. ET: “Hydroponic Operations—Produce Safety 101”
• October 17, 2023 at 2:00 P.M. ET : “Aquaponic Operations—Produce Safety 101”

The webinars are an extension of the Produce Safety in Hydroponic and Aquaponic Operations factsheets released by NECAFS earlier in 2023. NECAFS is one of four Regional Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is hosted by the University of Vermont Extension and is led jointly with co-directors from Cornell University, University of Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania State University, in partnership with stakeholders from the Northeast Region.

Update, October 6, 2023: Rescheduled dates have been announced for the webinar series, which the article has been edited to reflect.