This guidance document establishes a framework, including risk assessment, to determine equipment design for wet- and dry-clean environments.
The equipment used for primary packaging is a potential area of pathogen growth in low-moisture food production environments, notes Stephen Perry, Ph.D., co-managing director, AIOE. “Consumer goods companies (CPGs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are committed to machinery that is easy to clean, sanitize, and return to operation with minimal downtime,” Perry says. “One Voice fosters discussion and data gathering that leads to informed purchase decisions.”
The central feature of the approach is its joint collaboration process (JCP), he says. To reach a consensus on design criteria, JCP starts with a risk assessment to discern possible sources of biological, physical, and chemical contamination, investigating hygienic zone information, and examining existing standards and checklists.
“The risk assessment process is proven to help arrive at decisions on multiple processes, and by integrating it with the rest of the data, we can arrive at ‘must-have’ criteria that we apply to several existing hygienic design guidelines,” says Fred Hayes, director, Technical Services, PMMI, a global expert in risk assessment.
The CPG can still select a more rigorous OEM design, Perry notes. However, the One Voice process lays out base level criteria, saving time and investment throughout purchase discussions and decisions.
“The process enables an operations team to explain the assessment that led to their design choices,” Perry adds.
AIOE brings together CPG production and engineering professionals with subject matter experts to address issues of common concern. This is just one of many AIOE projects, and more information — including webinars by participating CPG professionals, the One Voice document, and the joint collaboration approach — is available online at www.pmmi.org/aioe.
AIOE would like to thank the Project Team from AIOE’s Engineering Solutions Group project team who worked on One Voice for Hygienic Equipment Design for Low-Moisture Foods: Glen Long, ADCO Manufacturing; Stephen Perry and Stephen Schlegel, AIOE; Jeffrey Barach, Barach Enterprises, LLC; Randy Cotton and Eric Ney, Big Heart Pet Brands; Steve Blackowiak, Buhler Group; Matt Swanson, Campbell Soup; Joe Shebuski, Cargill; Trisha Araujo, ConAgra Foods; John Spengler, GE; Gary Moore, Hillshire Brands; James Mino, Hormel; Mike Scouten, Hosokawa Bepex; Bob Risley, Intralox; David Drum, Kellogg; Bill Sutton, Kollmorgen; Robert Hagberg, Land O’ Lakes; Shane Guimbellot and David Heutmaker, MOM Brands; Jessica Evans, NSF; Tom Egan and Fred Hayes, PMMI; John Keenan, Post Foods; Jim Halliday, PTL; Lee DeBeau, formerly Schwans Foods and Madinah Allen, Snyder’s-Lance.
