The Growing Importance of Hygienic Design

Hygienic design of tools and equipment is essential for improving food safety in production facilities, and many people within the industry are arriving at this consensus together. The challenges facing those responsible for food safety are seemingly endless, and companies shouldn’t have to worry about compounding risks with poorly designed cleaning tools.

This past summer I had the privilege of witnessing the consensus building surrounding hygienic design at two different conferences. In March, the 3-A Sanitary Standards Group tackle the challenges of the hygienic and sanitary design of equipment. With the ever-increasing complexity and volume of food production, sanitation is becoming more and more daunting. Currently, the standards created by 3-A apply primarily to large equipment, but the organization also recognizes the potential benefits of applying standards to things like hand tools.

In August, I attended the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) annual conference. The IAFP conference has grown significantly in size and influence over the last few years. Much like 3-A members, IAFP members were talking about hygienic design throughout several Professional Development Groups and across many general sessions.

Deb Smith, Vikan’s Global Hygiene Specialist, spoke to the Food Sanitation and Hygiene PDG on the science of hygienic design applied to cleaning tools. Her talk garnered great interest among attendees both inside and outside the group. It’s obvious the industry is recognizing the importance of hygienic design throughout the cleaning process. Deb is also presenting a webinar covering the same topic on October 6th. 

At Remco, our goal is simplifying the challenges faced by food safety professionals. We do this by collaborating with Vikan on many levels. In addition to supplying a full line of hygienic material handling and cleaning tools, we also providing webinars, white papers, training, and consulting. Through these practices, I believe we advance hygienic design and simplify your challenges.