Providing a safe food supply requires a strong food safety foundation, and that begins with the facilities that process the food and beverage products we consume.
To an outsider, a food or beverage plant might seem to be four boring walls with some doors and maybe a couple windows, and a roof with some cooling and ventilation equipment. Yet, designing a processing plant with food safety in mind goes well beyond the basics, no matter if a company is renovating an older plant or building a greenfield facility.
Design in mind
“The entire industry is working toward advancements in the concept of food safety culture,” he says. “We learned a lot from opening our Jefferson facility and are grateful to have an outlet to apply that education so quickly.”
Moving forward on a greenfield project, where a “blank slate” basically awaits the demands and desires of the company, can have its pros and cons, Fallucca says. On the positive side, having a blank slate allows a proactive approach when it comes to creating a food safe facility as well as a mindset and culture built around food safety. However, having fewer physical restrictions can overwhelm the decision-making process.
“With a blank slate, anything is possible with the appropriate budget,” Fallucca explains. “Do we restrict access here? Permanent wall or temporary wall? … There are a lot of what-ifs, [and] at some point, we must make a choice and understand that choice may turn into a lesson down the road.”
On the flip side are renovations and expansions, which present a different set of circumstances. SunOpta’s Modesto, Calif., processing plant in June completed a $26 million expansion that allows it to produce more than 60% more oatmilk. As Joe Gerhardt, senior plant manager in Modesto relays, the expansion represents the second-largest capital project in the company’s history — therefore, SunOpta wanted to apply best practices to make the facility as efficient as it could possibly be.
“At SunOpta, we start by examining our ingredients — how they will be procured, stored and delivered into the processing system to ensure optimal freshness,” he says. “We then consider the types of equipment, instrumentation and routing that would be optimal for production, food safety, quality assurance and maintenance.”
Concept to construction
When it comes to turning facility design into bricks, mortar, concrete and steel, careful consideration of the spacing, layout and flow of the inner workings of the facility, as well as the materials used and ability to keep it all clean and in good working condition, is imperative to avoid future problems.
“Ensure that the equipment you are designing for the facility fits the overall footprint and that there is good flow of materials to and from the production lines, as well as a good flow of employees in and out of the processing space,” Fallucca adds.
At SunOpta’s Modesto facility, Gerhardt says the company followed a similar approach, with an additional influence upon its design process.
“Placing oneself in the shoes of the maintenance personnel responsible for the equipment is often an overlooked aspect of the overall design criteria,” he says. From a food safety perspective, poorly maintained equipment can cause serious issues for the product stream when equipment wears or breaks down — so designing easier maintenance access and capability into the overall plant can impact its food safety future.
When designing operations, selecting equipment and figuring out the best ways to install that machinery with food safety in mind, he says SunOpta focused deeply on getting the smallest details properly designed.
“We made a conscious effort to eliminate harborage points both overhead and at the interface of equipment to their permanent location,” Gerhardt says. “The elimination of flat surfaces whenever possible was also implemented, along with drain considerations to limit any standing water.”
He says SunOpta does not differentiate between food safety and human safety in its approach, making these decisions a type of “win-win,” and they protect both the operators working in the facility and the customers who eventually consume the product. Gerhardt says SunOpta is committed to raising the bar on food safety not only within its walls, but also for the greater food and beverage industry at large.
Designing a new facility around food safety still requires post-construction strategies, and SunOpta supports its investments with rigorous testing protocols, optimized sanitation systems, validated operator training and a culture that empowers employees to stop production anytime they feel product may be at risk.
Palermo’s is approaching its West Milwaukee plant design with a ready-to-eat (RTE) and audit-ready mindset, “to encourage our stakeholders to make decisions that align with designing food safety into the space and our programs.”
The company is leveraging the concept of first-pass quality, determining the best way to set up the process so that product is handled only one time — as increased handling leads to more chances for a food safety incident. In addition, Fallucca says, Palermo’s wants to create a facility that takes comfort and employee health into account.
“When people are in a healthy environment, they are more engaged, and that engagement makes all the difference when it comes to food safety,” he says. “We will do everything we can to design safety into [West Milwaukee], and we are fortunate to have a team of problem-solvers that are focused on one mission: to deliver a great pizza experience. That starts with safety first, always.”
