Sanitary design involves principles and practices in equipment design that make a machine easier to clean as well as prevent sanitation or quality issues. This all aims to reduce the time and labor needed to clean equipment effectively. Hallmarks of sanitary design include smooth surfaces, no crevices where debris can collect and hide, and equipment that is easy to disassemble and assemble. 

“Plain and simple: If you cannot break down the equipment to get into key areas, it cannot be cleaned,” said Jesse Leal, food safety professional, AIB International. “If the equipment cannot be cleaned, it could lead to numerous issues depending on the type of products. It could lead to pest issues such as stored grain pest issues in a bakery or milling operation. It could also lead to structural pest issues such as cockroaches and fruit flies. It could also lead to quality as well as food safety issues.”

Unfortunately, Will Eaton, vice president of sales and marketing, Meritech, noted that sanitary design isn’t consistently included as a standard feature on bakery equipment, so bakers can’t assume the equipment they are buying is designed this way; they need to ask. 

“It should be a priority, especially in light of the stringent environmental monitoring requirements mandated by the Food & Drug Administration,” he said. “Equipment is often swabbed for harmful pathogens such as Listeria and Salmonella, underscoring the need for easy-to-clean equipment.”

Knowing what to look for when it comes to sanitary design is critical to being assured the equipment will in fact be easy to clean and maintain. Korrin Doyle, food safety and sanitation director, Southeast region, ABM Industries, recommended bringing sanitation managers into the conversation when looking to purchase new equipment. These professionals can identify where current sanitation pain points are and inform conversations with equipment suppliers about what is needed. 

“If a bakery doesn’t have the right people internally, I’d look for a company or consultant to support. Have them look at the equipment you’re considering and evaluate the equipment and cleaning requirements before making the purchase,” she said. “You’re going to spend the money anyway, so buy the right equipment.” 

Another way to confirm if equipment is designed for easy sanitation is through certifications. There are several available for bakers to use: ANSI Z50.2 standard, set forth by the American Society of Baking, is specific to the commercial and retail baking industries. There are two types of certifications: the Internal Equipment Conformance Evaluation and a Third Party Verification. Jon Anderson, managing consultant for the Bakery Equipment Assessment Group (BEAG), explained that both indicate that a machine meets the ANSI/ASB Z50.2-2015 (R2020) Bakery Equipment Sanitation Requirement standard. 

“It’s a standard equal to, if not more advanced, than many other available hygienic design standards,” he said. “This certification process has been around for many years and has been proven effective when used by equipment manufacturers to demonstrate their equipment conforms to a strong and highly respected design standard.” 

The European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group also certifies equipment, and the Consumer Brands Association (CBA) offers an Equipment Design Checklist to food manufacturers wanting to evaluate possible equipment on their own. 

“The CBA Equipment Design Checklist is a valuable resource freely available for identifying design flaws and areas for improvement,” explained Wan Mei Leong, food safety specialist, Commercial Food Sanitation, an Intralox company. “It highlights key principles of hygienic design, which play a critical role in ensuring food safety.”

Equipment should be built in a way that makes it easy for sanitarians and maintenance engineers to take apart and put back together. This cuts down on labor time. 

“The equipment should be designed where either simple tools are used to take apart the equipment, and in some cases, no tools are needed,” Leal said. “Having to use tools such as screwdrivers or ratchets to remove numerous nuts, bolts and screws just to access the equipment is a waste of labor hours. And if it takes too long to conduct a task, that sometimes leads to tasks just not getting done or being skipped, which will lead to product safety issues.”

In addition to being easy to break down, equipment should be designed in such a way that minimizes nooks and crevasses. Surfaces should be smooth without pits, cracks or rough edges. Hollow areas should be sealed. All of this prevents buildup of debris and eliminates areas where moisture can be trapped and mold can grow. 

“Minimizing touch points on the equipment also prevents cross-contamination of pathogens in production zones,” said Randy Kohal, vice president of food safety and reliability at Nexcor Food Safety Technologies. 

Design materials can also have an impact on food safety. These materials should be easy to clean and not corrosive. They should be compatible with the baked goods being produced on the surfaces. 

With the right design materials, the product will remain safe, and the equipment will endure sanitation procedures and maintain its lifespan. 

“Including machinery parts that are compatible and capable of withstanding exposure to ingredients, cleaning chemicals and production environment is essential so that component parts don’t absorb or retain product residue or chemicals and that the component parts don’t break down and become a source of product adulteration,” Anderson said. 

Leal also noted that another pain point that can challenge sanitation is when equipment is modified or repaired without sanitation in mind. 

“The equipment is repaired to simply get back into operation; again, to maximize production and profitability,” he said. “Due to time restraints and cost, the modifications or changes may not be conducted effectively or properly, which can change the original design principles.”

Hygienic design certainly makes sanitation easier and more assured. It eases the burden of sanitation that falls on the sanitarians and extends the life of the equipment itself. But is it worth it to invest in before an older machine has run its course? 

“I believe there is an opportunity for the baking industry to more actively embrace hygienic design by replacing some of the well-used equipment that may have been installed before the time hygienic design became more prevalent in the food industry,” Anderson said. “Many progressive companies see the advantages of hygienic design and use it to their benefit. Yet, many companies will still rely on outdated machinery and continue to struggle with older designs and the built-in inefficiencies.” 

Doyle recommended that bakers invest in new hygienically designed equipment as soon as they are able and to work closely with their sanitation managers and OEMs to address previous machine’s pain points. 

“Sanitation is an overhead expense, so you need to look for sanitation aberrations in the money-makers,” she said. “If bakers really want to make this more beneficial for their sanitation teams, they need equipment that’s easy to take apart and put back together so it’s more efficient to clean effectively and they don’t lose run time.” 

Otherwise, bakeries run the risk of burning out their sanitation teams, damaging their equipment and, at the very worst, selling unsafe products, ending up in the headlines and losing the trust of their customers and consumers.

This article is an excerpt from the July 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Food Safety & Sanitation, click here.