Sanitary Design of Equipment

Sanitary Design of Equipment With the ongoing implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), prevention is becoming a key buzzword across the processes and practices of the industry, and sanitation is no exception. Not only do you have to clean it, nevertheless, you also need to access it for sampling and inspection. This means that the design allows visibility of the framework and product-contact surfaces during production without disassembly; then, when not in production, it can be easily disassembled for cleaning, inspection, and reassembly without excessive downtime. Q. Attaining these certifications also provides the manufacturer with advanced sanitary-design education. Also important is the simplicity of breakdown of equipment, particularly the power to break it down without the use of tools. However, with regulatory access to review food safety records and environmental monitoring results, one could be certain that if problems are continually evident in a food plant or an industry, it will lead one to the root cause—which may be poorly designed equipment or facilities. Trustem: FSMA hasn't completely translated to a significant increase in sanitary-designed equipment being purchased, in part, because much of the processor's time and effort toward compliance is being focused on documentation and traceability. While this is important, it isn't getting to the root of the problem—which is contamination. Tool use also introduces more opportunity for contamination and cross contamination of equipment. Although documentation is important, it is also critical to focus on changing the culture in plants and companies to engage the hearts and minds of all employees. Some of the savings of sanitary design gets clouded by the upfront cost of the equipment, but over time, the hours which are saved in proper cleaning and sanitization will add up speedily to more than make up for the initial cost difference. Although these certifications isn't required for many installations, the certification provides an assurance that the manufacturer conforms to specific standards. The best sanitary design development processes I have seen were generated by cross-functional teams who all had skin in the game and a level of earned ownership. To get the very best design for food safety, productivity, quality, clean-ability, and price, all must agree on what is most important and work together strategically to get it. Any components which are bolted on are less likely to be removed and properly sanitized. Most companies are working on documentation along with their food safety plans, which are core to meeting the expectations of FSMA. Without the right culture, FSMA will be a paperwork exercise which will increase regulatory actions against the industry without improving food safety statistics. Trustem: An additional benefit of sanitary design that companies don't always realize is its contribution to a reduction in changeover time and the associated cost advantages of that. Sanitation must clean it, quality needs to monitor it, operations must run it, and procurement must buy it. Trustem: For simplicity of cleaning, always check the surface finish of the equipment, as this will play a major role in removal of solids and residues. Equipment needs to be designed so as to allow visibility and allow the sanitation crew to easily clean it and verify its cleanliness. All of the documents on HACCP, sanitation, allergens, pest control or environmental monitoring will be worthless unless employees are engaged and passionate about their job requirements to make safe food. Surfaces such as polished and bead-blasted stainless steel and extruded plastics, will generally be more cleanable. The best way to describe it is: equipment and facilities easily accessible and cleanable to a advanced level of effectiveness and efficiency. If you can't see it, you can't clean it or sample it. Trustem: Two of the most important elements of sanitary design of equipment are visibility and clean-ability. If you need to dedicate what can be a full production shift to cleaning and sanitation rather than producing food, it carries a tremendous expense. Sanitary Design of Equipment Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 04/04/2012