Food Safety Equipment Design Principles

Since their inception, the Sanitary Equipment Design Principles have helped drive significant improvements in equipment design and sanitation practices. However, the use of and need for the principles has grown past its original intent. Leveraging the prominence of the Sanitary Equipment Design Principles, the 2021 Food Safety Equipment Design Task Force (FSEDTF) was charged with expanding on the existing principles and checklist to encompass all aspects of food safety, with a particular focus on foreign material.

Equipment design is critical in reducing the risk of contamination of food products by pathogens and foreign material. Optimizing the design and performance criteria for equipment and related systems by establishing industry-wide recommendations included in the Food Safety Equipment Design Principles benefits the entire industry by promoting principles intended to reduce contamination and associated recalls. These principles were developed for all equipment used in meat and poultry establishments to address various food safety hazards, but they may be applicable for other similar wet cleaning food operations.