Executing Food Safety Strategies in Complex Manufacturing Environments
To address today’s top food safety challenges, processors need more stainless steel machines, CIP-capable machinery, support for developing SSOPs and strategies to address labor concerns and comply with government regulations.
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Food safety and sanitation are bedrock principles of the food and beverage manufacturing industries, shaping everything from manufacturing processes to machine design. These practices also serve as vital strategies for protecting customers from allergens and foodborne illnesses and guarding brands against costly, reputation-damaging recalls, according to Food Safety and Sanitation Trends, an in-depth study from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.
End users surveyed for the study cited ways to measure sanitation compliance, yet they face frequent challenges in meeting regulations and are actively adjusting their operations and processes. For instance, some end users have adopted third-party certifications as a way to enhance their sanitation and food safety processes.
When purchasing equipment, the top three end-user considerations for food safety features are clear documentation and labeling; automated monitoring of temperature, pressure and flow; and fail-safe alarms for deviations from food-safe parameters. The top three sanitation features end users are looking for during equipment selection include food-grade materials, hygienic design, and smooth, nonporous surfaces.
Challenges to Food Safety
While there are multiple hygienically designed machines and sanitation methods available to the industry, labor shortages and new or changing regulations pose hurdles for food and beverage manufacturers.
The top trend reported by end users – labor shortages and employee turnover – is translating directly into operational roadblocks related to food safety and sanitation. In addition, getting employees to properly and consistently follow safe standard operating procedures (SSOPs) and training them on new technology and equipment remain challenging.
Food and beverage manufacturers surveyed for the study also reported persistent headaches when cleaning machinery, including sanitizing small parts and components, validating and measuring process effectiveness, and managing condensation, pooling and trapped moisture.
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To address these issues, end users require different machine features and services from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers, such as all-stainless-steel machines, CIP-capable machinery and support for developing SSOPs.
When and who does the cleaning are also considerations. While 76% of end users stated they spot clean during production shifts, full sanitation shutdowns, such as scheduled monthly or weekly deep cleaning and rotational cleaning during line idles or long changeovers, were reported by just over two-thirds of processors.
Nearly all end users are utilizing internal teams to accomplish at least some of their sanitation processes. But as labor shortages continue to challenge the manufacturing sector, OEMs and suppliers need to evaluate whether their training and education for the cleaning of their equipment is comprehensive enough.
Educational seminars, in-plant demonstrations and detailed instructions (such as linked instructions on a scannable code on the machinery) are all valuable tools OEMs and suppliers can and should offer to support effective sanitation practices.
Tracking Effectiveness
End users deploy a diverse set of measurements, tests and benchmarks to gauge the effectiveness of their sanitation processes. Since employing internal audits is the most widely used strategy, followed by visual inspections of cleanliness and microbial count measurements, OEMs and suppliers should work with end users to better understand how sanitation is measured and how machine designs can best support those efforts.
One of the least-used measurement tools is statistical process control, which relies on a high level of operational data for effective analysis. OEMs and suppliers should consider helping end users increase the volume of sanitation data collected and support efforts to analyze the data for potential improvements to cleaning procedures.
As one of the most important topics in the food industry today, food safety innovations will be in the spotlight at PACK EXPO International 2026 (Oct. 18-21; McCormick Place, Chicago).
In addition to featuring 2,700 exhibitors, the trade show offers registered attendees free educational sessions on various stages right on the show floor. For example, at the Food & Beverage Processing Innovation Stage, registered attendees can gather ideas that immediately streamline production, improve food safety and integrate new technology. Special food safety presentations include:
- Implementing a Drainage Evaluation Program for Pathogen Control and Operational Excellence
- Clean Label Meets Food Safety with High Pressure Processing (HPP)
- Hygienic Machine Guards: Balancing Bearing Safety and Cleanability
- Scaling Fresh: How HPP Enables Safety, Innovation, and Growth
- Overcoming Manufacturing Challenges with Advanced Inspection and Food Safety Certification
- A Safer Bowl Starts Here: How HPP Is Changing the Pet Food Landscape
Discover the latest in hygienic design, inspection, food safety technologies, contamination control, high-efficiency sanitary processing equipment, and plant engineering solutions. See processing equipment in action and compare technologies shaping the next generation of food and beverage manufacturing at PACK EXPO International 2026.
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