• Principle 1

  Distinct Hygienic Zones Established in the Facility

  Maintain strict physical separations that reduce the likelihood of transfer of hazards from one area of the plant, or from one process, to another area of the plant, or process, respectively. Facilitate necessary storage and management of equipment, waste, and temporary clothing to reduce the likelihood of transfer of hazards.

• Principle 2

  Personnel & Material Flows Controlled to Reduce Hazards

  Establish traffic and process flows that control movement of production workers, managers, visitors, QA staff, sanitation and maintenance personnel, products, ingredients, rework, and packaging materials to reduce food safety risks.

• Principle 3

  Water Accumulation Controlled Inside Facility

  Design and construct a building system (floors, walls, ceilings, and, supporting infrastructure) that prevents the development and accumulation of water. Ensure that all water positively drains from the process area and that these areas will dry during the allotted time frames.

• Principle 4

  Room Temperature & Humidity Controlled

  Control room temperature and humidity to facilitate control of microbial growth. Keeping process areas cold and dry will reduce the likelihood of growth of potential food borne pathogens. Ensure that the HVAC/refrigeration systems serving process areas will maintain specified room temperatures and control room air dew point to prevent condensation. Ensure that control systems include a cleanup purge cycle (heated air make-up and exhaust) to manage fog during sanitation and to dry out the room after sanitation.

• Principle 5

  Room Air Flow & Room Air Quality Controlled

  Design, install and maintain HVAC/refrigeration systems serving process areas to ensure air flow will be from more clean to less clean areas, adequately filter air to control contaminants, provide outdoor makeup air to maintain specified airflow, minimize condensation on exposed surfaces, and capture high concentrations of heat, moisture and particulates at their source.

• Principle 6

  Site Elements Facilitate Sanitary Conditions

  Provide site elements such as exterior grounds, lighting, grading, and water management systems to facilitate sanitary conditions for the site. Control access to and from the site.

• Principle 7

  Building Envelope Facilitates Sanitary Conditions

  Design and construct all openings in the building envelope (doors, louvers, fans, and utility penetrations) so that insects and rodents have no harborage around the building perimeter, easy route into the facility, or harborage inside the building. Design and construct envelope components to enable easy cleaning and inspection.

• Principle 8

  Interior Spatial Design Promotes Sanitation

  Provide interior spatial design that enables cleaning, sanitation and maintenance of building components and processing equipment.

• Principle 9

  Building Components & Construction Facilitate Sanitary Conditions

  Design building components to prevent harborage points, ensuring sealed joints and the absence of voids. Facilitate sanitation by using durable materials and isolating utilities with interstitial spaces and stand offs.

• Principle 10

  Utility Systems Designed to Prevent Contamination

  Design and install utility systems to prevent the introduction of food safety hazards by providing surfaces that are cleanable to a microbiological level, using appropriate construction materials, providing access for cleaning, inspection and maintenance, preventing water collection points, and preventing niches and harborage points.

• Principle 11

  Sanitation Integrated into Facility Design

  Provide proper sanitation systems to eliminate the chemical, physical and microbiological hazards existing in a food plant environment.

Flooring Options

• Epoxy

• Vinyl ester

• Urethane

• Acrylic – methyl methacrylate (MMA)

Additives

• Coarse Sand Grit

  This additive is great with most flooring. It prevents slipping and skidding

• Color Chips

  These chips are an attractive addition to your floor. As a decorative additive, color chips have aesthetic appeal and can be used together to form patterns and separate process areas.

• Crack Spanning Primers

  This material spans cracks and protects the finish topping from transference of the crack. It is used for cracked floors when it isn't practical to remove and replace the existing slabs.

Installation

• Coating

  This is a quicker type of installation. It is thin and resembles a painting technique.

• Broadcast

  This method results in a heavier floor. The flooring is poured and other materials are then broadcast in the floor including chips, sand, or other hard materials. These objects are placed on top of the poured resin before the hardening process.

• Trowel

  You've surely seen this method done before. The thick paste-like substance is laid and spread with a trowel.

Top Six Floor Failures!

• 1 – Excessive Moisture Content

  The dreaded moisture begins to slowly seep through the floor. Sounds like a horror movie, doesn't it? If the moisture content of your floor slab is too high, it can be a horror for your facility. Excessive moisture severely limits the types of floor topping you can install. Furthermore, this moisture migrates from the ground under your slab and causes cracks, potholes, and other inconvenient openings.

• 2 – Insufficient Chemical Resistance

  Chemicals can kill you. I got your attention, right? Good, because chemicals can also kill your floors. Make sure that your product selection has sufficient data for resistance to the chemicals to which it will be exposed. Some materials (like grease) are harmless at normal temperatures, yet prove to be decisively corrosive when heated.

• 3 – Poor Thermal Shock Resistance

  Do you work inside an active volcano? Probably not, but there are some very hot materials out there. For example, daily maintenance of food processing plants involves cleaning with hot water or steam. Thermal shock resistant surfaces do exist, and we can help you find them!

• 4 – Inadequate Surface Preparation

  Oh, no! Someone made a mistake! Thankfully, we're here to clean up that mess with the power of knowledge. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. If you don't prepare your floor properly, it may need to be completely replaced soon after the installation process. Mechanically abrading the floor with steel shot is a good idea. Don't just leave it there though; vacuum it up for further use (this saves you money of course)! Water blasting can also be used. If oils or fats have penetrated the surface, use a chemical degreaser.

• 5 – Poor Slip Resistance

  Don't forget that "wet floor" sign! Or, with the right type of flooring, you can use that sign less often. You don't want employees to slip and crack their heads because that results in serious injury (and high insurance premiums)! The surface texture of floors in wet areas should be skid resistant and not subject to removal of the texture during exposure to daily wear and tear. Remember to request a sample of the product! This way, you can compare it to the finished texture of the floor.

• 6 – Unrealistic Expectations

  Ah, this is something we are all guilty of. Do not expect a miracle floor that will last forever, win you an award, pay your debts, or make your spouse eternally happy with your anniversary gifts. Seriously though, the floor that looks the best may not prove to be the best long term performer. Make sure you know the following:

• What maintenance steps are necessary to keep the floor in best possible shape?

• Are there important product limitations?

• What is the floor's service life?

• What constitutes normal wear and tear?

• Are the warrantee terms and conditions reasonable?

• 

  Hygienic Zones Control

  Maintain physical separations that reduce the likelihood of the transfer of hazards from one area or process of the facility to another area or process.
• 

  Flow Control

  Establish traffic and process flow that control movement of production workers, managers, visitors, QA staff, sanitation and maintenance personnel, products, ingredients, rework, and packaging materials to reduce food safety risks.
• 

  Water Control

  Design and construct a building system (floors, walls, ceilings, and, supporting infrastructure) that prevents the development and accumulation of water. Ensure that all water positively drains from the process area and that these areas will dry during the allotted time frames.
• 

  Environmental Control

  Control room temperature and humidity to facilitate control of microbial growth. Keeping process areas cold and dry will reduce the likelihood of growth of potential food- borne pathogens. Ensure that the HVAC/ refrigeration systems serving process areas will maintain specified room temperatures and control room air dew point to prevent condensation.
• 

  Air Flow Control

  Design HVAC/ refrigeration systems for process areas to ensure air flow will be from more clean to less clean areas, filter air to control contaminants, provide outdoor makeup air to maintain specified airflow, minimize condensation on exposed surfaces, and capture high concentrations of heat, moisture and particulates at their source.
• 

  Spatial Control

  Provide interior spatial design that enables cleaning, sanitation and maintenance of building components and processing equipment.
• 

  Sanitation Control

  Provide proper sanitation systems to eliminate the chemical, physical and microbiological hazards existing in a food facility environment.
• 

  Building Components Control

  Design building components to prevent harborage points, ensuring sealed joints and the absence of voids. Facilitate sanitation by using durable materials and isolating utilities with interstitial spaces (walkable ceilings) and stand offs.
• 

  Utility System Control

  Design and install utility systems to prevent the introduction of food safety hazards by providing surfaces that are cleanable to a microbiological level, using appropriate construction materials, providing access for cleaning, inspection and maintenance, preventing water collection points, and preventing niches and harborage points.
• 

  Site Elements Control

  Provide site elements such as exterior grounds, lighting, grading, and water management systems to facilitate sanitary conditions for the site. Control access to and from the site.
• 

  Building Envelope Control

  Design and construct all openings in the building envelope (doors, louvers, fans, and utility penetrations) so that insects and rodents have no harborage around the building perimeter, easy route into the facility, or harborage inside the building. Design and construct envelope components to enable easy cleaning and inspection.

• Floors

  Food plant floors are under constant strain from the physical abuse of heavy traffic, thermal shock from temperature variations between cleanup and operation, and chemical attack from harsh cleaning chemicals. The correct material, proper preparation, and careful application will prevent premature failure from the abuse that floors in food plants undergo.

• Freezer Floors

  Freezer floor slabs are subject to heaving if not designed properly. There are various methods, such as air tubes, heat tracing, and glycol, along with a properly insulated floor, that can be applied to prevent freezer floors slabs from heaving.

• Condensation

  Condensation will occur in improperly refrigerated environments. The problems often stem from improper vapor barrier in insulated panel construction, vapor pressure issues, or infiltration/ex-filtration between different types of rooms. Proper identification of how each of these issues may occur is critical to prevent condensation from occurring

• Walls

  Walls are subject to physical abuse from traffic and chemical abuse from cleaning chemicals. Proper specification and application of materials that can withstand the physical and chemical abuse is critical in order to protect food plant walls.

• Floor drains

  Floor drains are a source of potential contamination. Installing sanitary floor drains that are easy to clean, and designing a process waste systems that minimize the potential for contaminating food is critical to food safety.

• Lights

  Food plant lighting fixtures must be easy to clean and maintain. Sometimes they must be able to handle wash down. Plus they must also be energy efficient.

• Pipes and conduits

  In a food processing facility, piping and conduit materials must be sanitary on the interior and exterior. Proper application of materials that are sanitary, can withstand the abuse of chemical cleaning, and hold up to temperature variations is critical.

• Air conditioning/refrigeration

  Air contacts exposed food products in a facility and can cause both quality and contamination issues. Air balance and filtration is critical to maintain an environment for the safe production of food, especially for ready-to-eat products.

• Equipment utilities

  Food processing equipment can require different types of energy sources to operate, and sometimes choices can be made between sources. Choosing the most efficient and cost effective source of energy is critical for controlling production costs.

• Sanitation systems

  Many types of sanitation systems exist, both wet and dry. The correct temperature and pressure requirements for wet cleanup, as well as the various options for heating, circulation, and delivery of water, are important for both energy use and sanitation effectiveness.