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Equipment Sanitary Equipment Sanitary DesignDesign

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Overall Design

• Equipment should be designed so that it is easy to clean and sanitize

• The equipment at right looks like it would be difficult to disassemble and clean.

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Overall Design

• Closed-box construction should be avoided unless the seams can be hermetically sealed.

Do you think this seam is adequately sealed to prevent moisture entry?

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Overall Design

• Areas where any type of particle can get inside should have a wide enough access point for cleaning fluids to enter and drain out.

This hole looks too small to allow for quick drainage

This hole is large enough for cleaning brushes to penetrate and water to quickly drain.

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Overall Design

• Crevices, overlapping parts, bolt threads, and other contamination collection points should be eliminated through simple uncluttered design.

Is this hole necessary? Could this edge be better sealed?

Bolt spacers are good sanitary design. They help to keep

moisture away from threads

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Overall Design

• Parts should be connected by smooth welds, or spacers and bolts with unexposed threads.

These are collection points for soils and

bacteria

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Overall Design

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Overall Design

• Equipment floor supports should be constructed to they will not accumulate soils.

• These are examples of poor sanitary design and construction

Collection points for soils

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Porous Metal

• Porous materials such as this piece of aluminum are a potential breeding ground for bacteria.

• Stainless steel polished to a high level or the use of anodized or similar processed aluminum are acceptable.

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Corroded metal

• Corrosion introduces sites where soils can accumulate and bacteria can grow.

• They are almost impossible to clean and sanitize

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Build-up areas for soils

• A scratch on a piece of stainless steel acts as a harborage point for Listeria.

• An incorrectly designed piece of equipment provides sites for soils and bacteria to accumulate.

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Build-up areas for soils

• Collection points like this are unacceptable.

• Where buildup occurs harmful bacteria or allergens can accumulate.

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Build-up areas for soils

• This modified piece of food equipment provides places for harmful contaminants to hide. The best design is the original design.

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Connection joints

• Connections such as this one give many areas for contaminants to build up while keeping out cleaning solutions.

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Connection joints

• This connection does not provide adequate space for pressurized water to enter, but does provide a place for bacteria to hide and multiply.

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Connection joints

• The polished round spacers used with this connection joint keep food particles and bacteria from hiding and give plenty of places for water to wash out contaminants.

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Connection joints

• Another picture of the spacers from below.

Acceptable connections need to be done using either smooth welds or use spacer connectors such as these.

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Overlapping Parts

• Tight fittings provide excellent places for containments to hide, while making disinfecting difficult and almost impossible for cleaning crews to perform.

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Overlapping Parts

• Wide-open mountings allow adequate room for pressurized water to force out any bacteria harboring food particles.

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Overlapping Parts

• This particular design provides a removable tray for cleaning. The removable tray does not provide sufficient overlap to prevent food particles from entering the body of the piece of equipment.

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Overlapping Parts

• This piece, in contrast, has a minimal-contact overlapping design which does not allow material to enter the equipment body during normal use.

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Overlapping Parts

• Metal / plastic junction provides a site for soils to accumulate and is difficult to clean

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Overlapping Parts

Overlapping surfaces of belt tensioner are not accessible

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Drainage – Equipment Edges

Good design

Poor design

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Drainage

• The drainage hole on the bottom of this piece of equipment gives a place for water and contaminants to drain

• The placement of a connecting piece with no spacers next to the drainage hole will ensure the buildup of bacteria.

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Drainage

• This design, on the other hand, provides for easy unobstructed draining.

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Drainage

• Another example of potential drainage problems.

• Although the drainage hole has been provided in the design, there are many obstructions where contaminants can be trapped.

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Wash Access Points

• Corners are almost completely closed on this piece of equipment

• Particles can get stuck allowing bacteria to grow

• Not enough room for cleaning solutions to enter and drain

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Wash Access Points

• Better corner

• Wide openings allow cleaners and sanitizers to enter and drain

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Crevices

• The closed-box construction of the back of this piece of equipment, which is not hermetically sealed provides many small places for contaminants to enter but not enough area for cleaning fluids to enter and drainage to occur.

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Crevices

• This particular design uses an open-back construction for a supporting piece.

• Since hermetically sealing a box is difficult and expensive, this type of design is preferred for its cleanability.

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Crevices

• Interface between serial number plate and the equipment surface provides harborage sites

• Attachment screws make thorough cleaning impossible

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Crevices

• The control panel on this piece of equipment has a crevice around the controller.

• This type of design is especially dangerous since the bacteria-harboring design is also a main point of contact for the user who is likely to touch (and contaminate) food after using this panel.

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Crevices

• The corner construction on this piece of equipment is particularly bad. A supporting piece of welded bar steel provides a point for food material to hide and bacteria to grow.

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Crevices

• The shock absorber shown here is yet another point for contaminants to hide.

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Crevices

• The shock absorber shown cannot be easily removed and replaced without tools. It also is not adequately sealed and is not made of non-porous neoprene, a bacteria resistance bushing material.

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Crevices

• The spring and screw head used here are both difficult and likely impossible to clean. A major bacteria harborage point.

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Crevices

• The spiral-type cord connector is yet another place for food particles to collect and bacteria to hide. All surfaces should be smooth when possible.

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Exposed Threads

• These types of polished stainless steel nuts, cover bolt threads and provide few places for bacteria to cling.

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Exposed Threads

• The nuts used here minimize thread exposure, while the nut's plastic top and bottom also ensure that bacteria will not collect on the unexposed parts of the threads.

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Acknowledgments

• American Meat Institute for equipment photos www.SanitaryDesign.com

• Don Ewes, Girton Manufacturing for weld and equipment edge samples