Food safety standards are constantly improving, and zoning strategies have become a crucial element in maintaining high standards across global production facilities.
In this article, we ask Dr. Patrick Wouters, Global Hygienic Design Leader at Cargill, to share their approach to zoning, trying to dig out insights you might be able to use in your own food production.
Cargill's Approach to Zoning: Hygiene Zones vs. Technical Zones
Cargill has taken a unique point of view on zoning, making a clear distinction between hygiene zones and technical zones. This approach addresses a common industry pitfall: the misclassification of outdoor areas as hygiene zones, which according to Wouters does not make sense—at least in a Cargill setting.
This strict definition ensures that hygiene standards are maintained consistently across all facilities. Outside areas, such as truck loading and unloading points, are classified as technical zones. This distinction helps maintain clarity in operations and makes sure that appropriate hygiene measures are applied where they matter most.
"Hygiene zones, in our model, are always in a closed building because we noticed that, for instance, people would start calling a certain zone outside a building a 'medium hygiene zone'. Now, that for us was not acceptable. So, we first made the statement, 'All our hygiene zones are in a closed building.'"
By implementing this clear-cut zoning strategy, Cargill has created a standardized language across its global operations. This consistency improves communication and helps maintain uniform hygiene standards across diverse geographical locations.
The Three Levels of Food Manufacturing Zones
Within the manufacturing environment, Cargill employs a three-tiered zoning system: basic, medium, and high hygiene zones. This system allows for adaptable hygiene measures based on the specific requirements of each production stage:
- The basic zone typically houses more open processes, often preceding a kill step such as pasteurization or sterilization.
- Medium zones might include intermediate processes, again also preceding a kill step.
- High hygiene zones are reserved for the most sensitive operations such as packaging, filling, or similar processes where any contaminants would not be killed by pasteurization or sterilization before ending up in the consumer fridge.
This tiered approach allows for efficient resource allocation, and ensures that the highest hygiene standards are applied where they're most critical. While zoning tiers are nothing new, adhering meticulously to the strict definitions is not yet an industry standard.
Risk Reduction Steps and Their Impact on Zoning
A key factor in Cargill's zoning strategy is the concept of risk reduction steps. These steps, such as pasteurization or sterilization, play a central role in determining the required level of protection in subsequent processes.
"You need to understand how much protection there is needed after the last risk reducing step. And that level of protection will then determine [which] hygienic design measures you need to implement," Wouters explains.
This risk-based approach ensures that hygiene measures are proportional to the actual risk at each stage of production. By focusing on risk reduction steps, Cargill can design more efficient and effective zoning strategies. This approach not only enhances food safety but also optimizes resource allocation, potentially leading to cost savings without compromising quality.
Rooms Within Zones: Purpose, Cleaning Methods, and Environmental Factors
Within each zone, individual rooms are designed with specific considerations in mind. Cargill uses a comprehensive questionnaire to determine the optimal design for each room, considering factors such as room purpose, cleaning methods, and environmental conditions.
The room's purpose dictates design aspects, Wouters explains. From the construction materials to types of equipment and all the way to the cleaning methods, whether dry, wet, or controlled wet cleaning. All choices that significantly influence the room design and surface finishes.
The complexity of designing a production room unfolds as Wouters continues explaining the thoughts behind design choices:"We also need to understand what type of production process is happening in the room. Is there excessive amount of moisture being generated, excessive [heat]?" Wouters says and explains that this understanding will feed into decisions on the civil structure of the room, as well as the potential air treatment of the room, i.e. heating, ventilation, and air conditioning requirements.
By methodically considering these factors, Cargill ensures that each room within a zone is optimally designed to maintain the required hygiene standards while supporting efficient operations.
As food professionals, we can all learn from the systematic approach, Cargill employs to keep their food production facilities up to standard, no-matter where in the world. And as the industry continues to grow and regulations and hygienic demands become evermore stringent, such approaches to hygienic design will undoubtedly play a crucial role in keeping your food production competitive and safe.
