Food processing equipment requires large investments from food processors, especially equipment with higher hygienic design standards as it needs suitable construction materials and often more advanced manufacturing methods.  At the same time, there is constant pressure to lower food  prices, making it difficult to justify purchasing equipment with a higher price. The important factor, therefore, is to understand the total cost of ownership of hygienically designed equipment throughout the whole lifecycle of the machine. For food safety experts, the largest benefit of hygienically designed equipment is a reduction of hazards, such as the growth of microorganisms or introduction of contaminants. The procurement personnel, however, often do not understand how large the risk is associated with the equipment and how it translates to money. Some prefer to take the risk and assume that all incidents happen elsewhere, not in their own business.  This seminar is designed to bridge the gap between engineers, procurement and food safety experts in food companies.  The main objectives of the program are to demonstrate how to relate hygienic design features of the equipment to tangible benefits such as reduction of cleaning time, faster changeovers, the extension of shelf life of food, extension of the lifecycle of the equipment, successful audits, etc. Different methods of quantifying the hygienic design benefits and case studies from the food and pet food industry, regulatory bodies and standards providers will be presented.

Presentations