Investing in hygienically designed facilities, equipment, or even itemized inventories isn't just a trendy buzzword anymore in the food and beverage industries. Having surfaces that are easy to clean, inspect, and access has become essential for ensuring the sanitary production of safe food. This helps prevent or minimize key environmental hazards like pathogens, allergens, and harmful foreign materials from contaminating food products.

Design plays a crucial role in meeting material specifications that are vital for maintaining environmental and food sanitation. Last month, Remco attended the 3-A SSI's 2021 Virtual Conference, where regulatory sanitarians, equipment manufacturers, food processors, academics, and other professionals discussed the "Role of Hygienic Design in Enhancing Food Safety Plans." Some interesting topics covered during the sessions included pathogen control strategies, creating hygienic design training for staff, and avoiding common pitfalls in hygienic design.

The insights shared by subject matter experts highlighted the stark limitations of legacy facilities or equipment compared to the ideal choice of hygienically designed equipment. Achieving this ideal standard isn't easy, though. For instance, 3-A takes a comprehensive approach to hygienic design by integrating equipment design, facility design, cleaning and sanitizing protocols, operational design, GMP procedures, and quality and regulatory focus.

In alignment with recent developments in new GFSI industry scopes—JI for builders and equipment manufacturers and JII for users—we can expect Certification Program Owners (like BRC, SQF, and FSSC 22000 developers) to incorporate these hygienic design benchmarks into their upcoming program versions. But it’s not just about major capital assets like buildings and equipment. Hygienic design principles should also apply to sanitation and material handling tools, as improperly designed tools can easily become vectors of contamination.

Since 2015, Remco has offered Vikan’s Ultra-Safe Technology brushes and brooms, which are designed for use in high-risk food processing areas, especially in ready-to-eat facilities. Each tool features a smooth surface and is free from significant contamination traps, making them easier to clean. Contact us to help you select, install, store, care for, and maintain hygienically designed tools properly. To explore our range of tools tailored for hygiene-sensitive environments—including squeegees, handles, and one-piece shovels—click here.

References:

(a) About 3-A Sanitation Standards Inc.: As an independent organization, 3-A Sanitary Standards Inc. primarily relies on the collaboration and consensus of regulatory sanitarians, equipment fabricators, and food processors when developing voluntary standards and accepted practices for food processing systems. More information about 3-A SSI is available at: http://www.3-a.org/.

(b) Legacy facilities or equipment generally refer to outdated, obsolete, old, or overused capital assets used at a site that were not originally built or installed with hygienic design principles in mind, thus creating more maintenance and breakage issues in the medium to long term.

(1) https://www.ehedg.org/fileadmin/News_and_Events/EHEDG_3A_SSI_Endorse_New_GFSI_Hygienic-Design-Benchmarking-Requirements.pdf

(2) https://remcoproducts.com/how-to-keep-cleaning-tools-from-becoming-vectors-of-contamination/

(3) https://remcoproducts.com/ust-white-paper/