It has happened before, and it will happen again. Food contamination incidents that impact the entire industry. Incidents of such a scale continuously call for better hygienic standards, and in turn, more standardization from food companies across the globe.
In this interview, we've talked to Dr. Patrick Wouters, Global Hygienic Design Leader at Cargill to get his perspective on hygienic design of food plants.
So how does a global giant like Cargill manage to maintain consistent standards across its vast network of facilities? The answer lies in a well-structured approach that combines standardization with flexibility.
Cargill's Project Delivery Process
Central to Cargill's approach to standardizing hygienic design is its project delivery process. This process is designed to ensure that food safety and quality are prioritized from the very beginning of any new facility project, whether it's a greenfield or brownfield development.
The key to this process is the formation of cross-functional teams.
"As a cross-functional team, you're working on a certain project, so the scope is defined. So then, in such a project environment, you work as a cross-functional team from engineering, from environmental health and safety, from food safety, quality, regulatory, process safety. And then, all the engineering disciplines, civil, structure, architectural, utility engineering, and automation engineering, instrumentation engineering, you name it," Wouters explains.
By rallying diverse expertise, Cargill ensures that all aspects of food safety and hygienic design are considered from multiple perspectives, Wouters argues.
One of the critical components of this process is conducting thorough food safety and quality risk assessments. These assessments are tailored to the specific product groups and technologies involved in each project.Risk Assessments for Different Product Groups
The diversity of Cargill's operations - spanning animal nutrition, food ingredients, bio-industrial products, and protein businesses - requires a flexible approach to risk assessment. Each product group comes with its own unique set of food safety and quality requirements.
"All these different […] technologies, product groups, they have their own specific food safety and quality requirements. So, the processes that we are using are particularly focused on […] food safety and quality risk assessments, so that we are tackling the identified risks in the right way," Wouters explains.
To address this, Cargill's project teams conduct detailed risk assessments specific to each project. These assessments help identify the particular risks associated with the product and process in question. Based on these findings, the team can then determine the appropriate hygienic design measures to implement.
This approach makes sure that the hygienic design solutions are not only effective but also efficient. It prevents over-engineering in areas where it's not necessary while ensuring that high-risk areas receive the stringent measures they require – a balance crucial for maintaining food safety without unnecessarily increasing costs or complicating operations.
Adapting Guidelines to Regional Differences
While Cargill strives for consistency in its hygienic design practices, they also recognize the need to adapt to regional differences.
"The process itself is robust and is general. So, the building blocks will follow all the same approaches, but of course, there are regional differences and there are many differences on the regional level, even at country level," Wouters says.
These differences can include an array of different things, e.g.:
- Regulatory requirements
- Local standards
- Cultural practices that may impact food safety measures.
To address this, Cargill's project teams are tasked with making an inventory of the specific requirements for each location. This might involve researching local regulations, consulting with regional experts, or engaging with local authorities.
However, even as they adapt to local conditions, the teams still work within the framework of Cargill's overall hygienic design principles, Wouters explains.
"Every time we ask similar questions like, 'Okay, well what are the materials of constructions that we can apply for a particular building or for particular equipment?' So, we are trying to bring the teams to using similar type of checklists and similar type of approaches to manage food safety quality in the best way."
Always considering global consistency against local adaptation is key to Cargill's success in implementing hygienic design across its diverse global operations.
Standardized Checklists and Approaches
To maintain consistency across their diverse operations, Cargill relies heavily on standardized checklists and approaches. These tools provide a common language and framework for hygienic design across the organization, regardless of location or product type.
"We want to standardize how we would call all our manufacturing facilities and operational production rooms in a similar approach. Now, that is the outcome, let's say, of our zoning model that we have implemented globally," Wouters argues.
These standardized tools cover various aspects of hygienic design, from materials of construction to equipment layout. They serve as a starting point for all projects, ensuring that critical food safety considerations are never overlooked.
By using these standardized tools, Cargill can more easily share best practices across their global network and share training programs that help ensure that all team members—regardless of their location—are working from the same hygienic design playbook.
For a global food company, this consistency is absolutely critical for maintaining high standards of food safety across the organization.
