Understanding Sanitary Design for Food Safety

Maintaining food safety requires frontline staff to partake in rigorous training and adhere to standards, but equipment and facility designs that harbor bacteria and contaminants undermine even the most diligent efforts. Food safety is an interconnected system of behaviors, protocols, and tools that requires a foundation of facilities and equipment designed to prioritize sanitation. As a result, many aspects of food safety hinge on the principles of sanitary design.

What is sanitary design?

Sanitary design is a set of design principles and standards that optimize equipment, facilities, and processes for easy cleanability, hygiene, and contamination resistance.

The principles of sanitary design were originally developed by the American Meat Institute (AMI) and have since been expanded on and further refined by organizations like The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), 3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc., and The European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG). Manufacturer adherence to sanitary design principles is required by regulators and significantly reduces the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks.

The Two Main Principles of Sanitary and Food Safety Design

The two most important and interlinked food safety design principles are cleanability and accessibility, which inform all standards governing actual equipment and facility design.

Cleanability mandates that all spaces or equipment allow workers to easily remove waste and debris from food contact surfaces, as well as clean and sanitize them according to food safety standards.

Accessibility mandates that workers can easily reach surfaces for cleaning, sanitation, inspection, and maintenance, minimizing barriers to compliance with food safety standards.

The Impact of Sanitary Design Principles on Equipment and Facilities

These two principles of cleanability and accessibility impact every characteristic of equipment and facilities, including what type of materials manufacturers are allowed to use, specific construction mechanics, and more, particularly:

Food Contact Surfaces

To comply with food safety design standards, equipment surfaces that come into contact with food must be:

• Smooth
• Impervious, nonporous and nonabsorbent
• Free of cracks and crevices that could harbor bacteria or food particles
• Corrosion resistant
• Nonreactive to food particles
• Toxin-free
• Durable
• Low-maintenance
• Non-conducive to contamination

Materials

In addition to the characteristics listed above, materials used in the construction of equipment must meet sanitary design requirements specific to the type of machinery needed in the facility. Any materials allowed into the space must also be fully compatible with the chemicals required for cleaning and sanitation, as well as the required methods for cleaning surfaces (e.g., scrubbing).

These attributes are most often found in:

• Stainless steel, the most commonly used metal in food processing equipment because of its easy cleanability, extreme durability, and corrosion resistance
• Aluminum, used instead of other metals when machinery needs a lightweight profile
• Titanium, which is stronger than stainless steel but used less frequently because of its prohibitive cost
• Plastic, which provides a hard, smooth surface that’s easily cleanable
• Rubber, used for surfaces that require more flexibility and grip, without risking absorption

Machine Construction

Food safety design principles also impact the actual construction of machinery and equipment to ensure maximum cleanability and accessibility. Key rules to keep in mind are:

• Equipment must be constructed without sharp corners and crevices to prevent bacteria from growing in hard-to-reach places.
• By design, equipment must also require minimal disassembly to clean or inspect, and be easy to disassemble and reassemble when necessary.
• Hollow areas, such as the leg or frame of a piece of equipment, should be hermetically sealed to avoid harboring any contaminants that can spread to products.
• Bolts, studs, mounting plates, brackets, and other mechanisms should be continuously welded to surfaces to avoid creating any gaps or crevices that are difficult to reach for cleaning.
• Any vessels, tanks, or chambers that hold product should be self-draining.

Sanitary Performance

When in operation, the equipment or machinery must not perform in a way that threatens the sanitary conditions of the environment, facilitates contamination, or promotes the growth of bacteria.

Mastering Food Safety Design

Sanitary design principles impact every aspect of a food and beverage manufacturing operation, as well as the food safety systems implemented throughout facilities. Knowing what these principles are and understanding their application is critical to both maintaining compliance and protecting public health.

Learn more about how to use these principles to improve the effectiveness of your programs, plan renovations, and more in the Sanitary Design module of AIB International’s comprehensive Food Safety and Sanitation Online course.