3 - Emerging Trends and Methods in Food Factory Design

Abstract

Food factories must be conceived in such a manner that the correct environmental conditions are created to produce safe food products of high quality on a consistent basis and in a profitable way. With time, renovation of a food plant may be required because the infrastructure no longer satisfies legislative requirements and the current and future needs of the food manufacturer. However, at a certain point, renovation may no longer make sense. The existing facility may have reached its end due to aging, has itself become a hygiene problem e.g., cross-contamination due to crossing of flows and poor hygienic design, or has lost economic viability due to a tangle of inefficiencies, such as disjointed and circuitous material and personnel circulation patterns, giving rise to bottlenecks, and increased handling and staging of material. Moreover, renovation of a facility could become more costly than building a new factory. Prior to designing, engineering, and construction of a new factory, the food manufacturer must develop a vision to address the social, economic, technological, and environmental evolutions and developments in the years ahead. This may include limits on available resources, the increasing hazards of pollution, the dangers of climate change, and the threats of intentional contamination. A renovated or newly built food factory must be able to cope with the hygiene requirements arising from the risk assessment, including up to the rigorous standards for infant foods. This chapter describes key hygiene aspects and provides recommendations for renovation of an existing factory, as well as design and construction of a new factory, whether it is bulk commodities or fast moving consumer goods.