Thermal Processing of Ready-to-eat Meat Products
March 13-15, 2007
The Ohio State University
Sanitary Facility Design - Dave Kramer, Sara Lee Foods
The first principle of sanitary design is that the facility be cleanable to a microbiological level. The three broad themes involved in designing a sanitary food processing plant environment are providing zones of control, keeping the environment cold and controlling moisture, and arranging equipment in order to facilitate sanitation efforts. The 11 Principles of Sanitary Facility Design were developed to assist meat and poultry processors in identifying fundamental control strategies for achieving specific objectives within these three themes." The overall goal of sanitary facility design is to create a controllable environment. The drier the facility, the easier it is to control microbial growth. This means building a solid foundation of GMPs, sanitary equipment and facility design principles and HACCP programs, upon which the company can enhance employee-training efforts and thus improve verification and validation of processes. In terms of sanitary facility design, planning for success means taking the "as-is" model of the facility and comparing it to the processor’s "want-to-be" model to get an accurate view of how the company can adjust to enhance both its food safety and efficiency goals. A five-step process, beginning with a facility design audit (using a checklist like AMI’s) customized for the processor’s specific application and desired facility model, is a good way to bring the food safety plan into the company’s master corporate plan. Food safety is, indeed, the most important issue any food company faces year-in, year-out. Its importance to public health, coupled with the potentially devastating consequences of a breakdown somewhere in the food safety web, have driven industry associations, sanitation and safety experts, and watchdog organizations to establish guidelines not only for food handling, but for plant and process line design. Adhering to these recommendations can dramatically reduce the possibility of a devastating food safety event. Factors, such as traffic and air flow, temperature, moisture, nutrients, pH, and competing organisms must factor into sanitary design planning.