Three 2025 Summit on Hygienic Design Takeaways From Day One Speaker Sessions
Discover three of the biggest takeaways from speakers who addressed hygienic equipment design for food manufacturers at the 2025 Summit on Hygienic Design in Chicago.
Gabe Miller, Principal of Pi-FS, LLC and a 3-A Certified Conformance Evaluator, speaks on “Materials of Construction & Surface Finish" at the 2025 Summit for Hygienic Design.
Christopher Smith via PMMI Media Group
The first full day of action for the 2025 Summit on Hygienic Design at the Marriott Chicago O’Hare gives food manufacturers important insight for maintaining proper equipment standards.
The speaking lineup for May 6’s "Beginner-Level" learning sessions, which were presented in collaboration with 3-A Sanitary Standards, included industry experts who addressed the following topics: “Materials of Construction & Surface Finish,” “Hygienic Design & Fabrication,” and “Hygienic Specification & Inspection Methods.” Without further ado, here are three insightful takeaways from the sessions.
A framework for choosing materials for equipment design
Gabe Miller, Principal of Pi-FS, LLC and a 3-A Certified Conformance Evaluator, laid out a foundation for manufacturers in choosing materials that meet hygienic equipment design standards, such as those from 3-A Sanitary Standards, during the day’s first "Beginner-Level" session.
First, Miller says all equipment materials must be selected to assure that hygienic design is maintained for the life of the equipment. For example, if a piece of manufacturing equipment is designed to last 10 years, then ensure the hygienic building material of that equipment can last as long.
Moreover, any equipment surface finishes must also be maintained for the equipment’s lifespan. An example in this case is seen when a manufacturer decides to weld some hygienic piping in its facility. If the piping lasts 10 years, then the welding on the piping must be hygienically maintained for the time frame as well. The welding method should not be used if the welding decays to point of being susceptible to physical, chemical, or biological contamination before the original equipment’s end of life or if the weld cannot not be remedied to combat contamination.
Next, Miller states that Written Material Certifications must be maintained on file to meet standards. Part of this process entails taking note of material information given by equipment suppliers. End-users must understand the materials used in equipment, how materials impact wear and tear of equipment, and stay in proper communication with suppliers for any needed documentation for verification.
"Even though you think [equipment manufacturers] are supplying the equipment, this is a partnership between the suppliers and the end-users to make sure that they are selecting the right materials that are going to meet the requirements in your plans," Miller says.
A baseball metaphor for meeting hygienic design standards
Bryan Downer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Sani-Matic, Inc addresses "Hygienic Design & Fabrication" at the 2025 Summit for Hygienic Design.Christopher Smith via PMMI Media Group
How does baseball relate to manufacturing equipment meeting hygienic design standards? Bryan Downer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Sani-Matic, Inc breaks it down.
During his "Hygienic Design & Fabrication,” Downer showed the audience a Major League Baseball ball, which of course, has distinct markings identifying it as such. Just as the baseball is made at a specific weight and constructed with a certain number of stitches, manufacturing equipment must be built with hygiene in mind. Confidence in hygienic design is what 3-A Sanitary Standards conveys when equipment is verified through an independent inspection.
"We hope that if something has a 3-A symbol on it, we don't have to tear it apart [and] look inside of it, because we know it's been built right. It's been built by a certain criteria," Downer says.
Furthermore, Downer stresses that one of the most important fundamental qualities of hygienic equipment is it must possess accessibility to be cleaned.
"[Equipment] should have the most liberal access, because again, if you can't get to it, you can't clean it," Downer adds.
Understanding Downer’s baseball analogy and a basic requirement of keeping equipment hygienic makes it easier for food manufacturers to execute a plan to keep equipment up to standard.
A four-step approach to hygienic specification
Greg Marconnet, Vice President of Operations, Food & Beverage at Mead & Hunt, speaks on "Hygienic Specification & Inspection Methods" at the 2025 Summit for Hygienic Design.Christopher Smith via PMMI Media Group
Greg Marconnet, Vice President of Operations, Food & Beverage at Mead & Hunt, captured the importance of hygienic design in manufacturing equipment with an introductory statement during the "Hygienic Specification & Inspection Methods" session:
"Hygienic specifications are the foundation of [manufacturing equipment] design," Marconnet wrote on one of his presentation slides.
Like previous Summit speakers' points, equipment cannot meet hygienic standards without proper design. Marconnet outlines a four-step approach to help manufacturers confirm hygienic specification:
1. Define the hygiene risks associated with the manufactured product. Understand the product, and make sure to understand how equipment will be cleaned.
2. Examine different standards, such as 3-A Sanitary Standards, select one that addresses use and risk, and make sure it applies to the product, including planned cleaning and sanitation methods.
3. Apply the standard from the equipment's early design phase through installation and startup by designing equipment to meet criteria proposed in the standard, and conduct pre-fabrication reviews.
4. Lastly, verify the equipment using a combination of factory fabrication, proper field installation, and field operation testing and validation.
May 6’s kick off the 2025 Summit on Hygienic design provides a glimpse of what is required to maintain hygienic equipment in food processing operations. Stay tuned for additional coverage of the event, which will include a closer look at fostering a food safety culture.
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