1. HYGIENIC FACILITY
STRUCTURE IS A
FUNDAMENTAL
REQUIREMENT FOR FOOD
SAFETY- BASKARAN.G
In order to produce safe food manufacturer
or food business operator adopt, follow, and
sustain good manufacturing practices and
HACCP to produce safe food for consumers.
Did you know? The starting point or
fundamental of food safety majorly resides at
your facility. Yes, hygienic facility and
surrounding majorly contributes to safe food
products in which food processing and
handling are conducted. Product
contamination may occur not only at
equipment level but also at the factory level.
Therefore, design and construction of food
processing and handling area in a hygienic
way become an indispensable requirement.
Hygienic design deals with details of hygienic
design and construction of the physical
structure and surrounding. An engineered
design of food handling, processing, storage
facilities and equipment to create a sanitary
processing environment and to produce pure,
uncontaminated, quality products
consistently, reliably and economically (H.L.M.
Lelieveld)
There is numerous consideration of design to
be given when constructing a new grassroots
or amending food processing facility to the
great extent to control chemical, physical and
microbiological hazard directly or indirectly. In
generally the processing facility areas are
differentiated into two broad categories i.e.
external and internal.
EXTERNAL
Site Selection: Hygiene starts with location
selection. Law says ideally food establishment
need to be located away from pollution and
produce disagreeable or obnoxious odours,
fumes, chemical and biological emissions. For
example, if the facility to process meat,
poultry, vegetable oils (high-fat contents)
then the site surrounding relatively odourless
since fat is flavour carrier and will pick up
odour cause off-flavour easily.
Water supply:
The site should have adequate of a source of
potable (human consumption) water
throughout the year even for future
expansion.
o The incoming water line designed for
adequate volume and pressure as
desired.

2. o If pressure not sufficient than storage
tank and booster pumps would be
required.
o Water storage tank constructed in
such a way to avoid the possibility
biological contamination and enhance
cleaning and sanitization.
o An adequate supply of cold and hot
water provision to be made available
as desired to adhere good
manufacturing practices.
Landscaping: Sanitary landscaping is one of
important barrier controller of rodents and
keeping dust to a minimum.
o The processing facility surrounding
area shall have grass free strip and
lined up with a thick poly liner to keep
weeds down and then filled pea
gravel.
o The walking area and driving area
shall be surfaced with concrete, that
has been effectively treated to
minimise dust, facilitate maintenance
o Tree around the plant is not
recommended since they provide
roosting and nesting spots for birds. If
require trees, it is recommended to
away from 30-40 feet.
Roof Area: Roofs are the equally important
area as like the processing area. However, it is
often ignored when it comes to sanitary
design. It can be a major source of
contaminants, especially if they are
constructed of un-cleanable material i.e.
tarpaper gravel (H.L.M. Lelieveld). There could
chance of vegetation formation ranging from
bits of grass and weeds. Some of the
parameter to be considered at the time of
roof selection are:
o Drainable and cleanable
o Discourage water accumulation
o Designed with downspouts to handle
rain water.
o All openings through the roof are
curbed and flashed
o The curb should extend 12 inches (0.3
m) or more above the finished roof
o Do not place insulation on the inside
of the curb wall, as it is difficult to
clean and frequently becomes infested
with insects
o Roof penetrations for vents, intakes,
oven vents, air-handling systems and
some utilities must be sealed to
prevent water leakage and subsequent
interior air and surface
External lighting: Selecting and positioning
appropriate light and location are essential in
order to maintain the hygienic environment.
As many of us know that light can be insect
attractant, especially those that emit a high
level of ultraviolet light. Where ever possible,
it is suggested to the position about 30 feet (9
Metre away). Recommended light for the
external area is high-pressure sodium lights,
as they have a whiter light, low UV, and use
less energy.
INTERNAL
Appropriate layout: Interior of the food
processing facility must be designed
hygienically so that the flow of material,
people, air and waste can proceed in the right
directions. Some of the important for the
appropriate layouts are:
The flow of material needs to be in one
direction. Logically it shall follow the
sequence of operation i.e. receiving raw

3. material …… and finally dispatch finished
products.
o Barrier or separation to be created
between clean and unclean area
o Workflow needs to be smooth and to
extent possibly straight with minimal
crisscrossing
o Flow of food waste and discarded
material shall be in the opposite
direction
o To extent possible designed to
minimise non-essential personal traffic
from passing through the processing
and packing area.
Floor: The floor is the most important part of
food processing area. Needless to say, it is the
most abused part in food processing area
such as chemical, water, dust, cleaners,
sanitizers, acid, lubricant, food particles,
dropped equipment, tools pallet dragging,
temperature, hot water or cooking oil foot
traffic, forklift and pallet jack traffic.
Therefore floor shall be selected considering
all above to withstand all kind of abuse i.e.
durable, smooth and easy to clean.
o Monolithic coating at processing and
production area - seen as good
flooring material
o Floors should be sloped toward drains
and provided with curbed wall floor
junctions, with the curbs having a 30-
degree slope to prevent accumulation
of water, dust or soil.
o Concrete flooring is not recommended
for high-care production areas,
because it can spill and absorb water
and nutrients, allowing microbial
growth below the surface.
o Wall – floor junctions to have a
smooth rounded finish for ease of
cleaning.
Walls: Wall requirements greatly vary
depends on the location i.e. external and
internal. Requirement of external walls are:
o Water, rodent and insect proof
o Light density or cinder blocks not
recommended as they are porous and
encourage pest / insect infestation /
harbourage.
o All wall penetration for wiring,
plumbing, ventilation, and utility pipes
shall be framed and sealed with metal
or galvanised hardware cloth to
withstand rodent gnawing
Interior Wall:
o Inside surface of the wall should be
water resistant, smooth, and
washable.
o Should not have ledges to collect dust
and debris.
o Wall plates should be sealed to
prevent insect entry and dust
accumulation
o The edges of walls, especially at the
base, are to be protected with sanitary
bumpers or coved curbs to prevent
the walls from chipping since chipped
walls are bacteria and insect breeding
places.
o Crevices at wall-ceiling junctions are to
be eliminated to prevent insect or
rodent harborage.
o Protective barriers recommended for
areas where there is a high chance for
potential for damage ( example Wall
guards, Bollards )
o In wet areas blocks or tiles should be
constructed using stacked bond rather
than the running bond method to
avoid moisture observation.
o Wall in a facility shall be designed
without windows in processing,
packing and storage area.

4. Ceiling: It is often neglected from sanitary
design and construction perspective.
Improperly constructed ceiling become a
room for condensation, contamination, and
eventually, increase the chance of food
hazard incident. Some of the requirements of
ceiling are:
o Should easy to clean, smooth and non-
absorbent
o Good reflector of light
o Dropped ceilings are to be avoided in
manufacturing areas
o Horizontal beams, pipes and similar
items are to be avoided over exposed
products areas and food contact
surfaces.
o Ceiling crevices are to be eliminated
between pipes, supports hangers, etc.
by caulking
Drain: Did you know? Floor drain proved to
be the source of Listeria in food processing
facility unless correctly designed, installed,
and maintained, and continually cleaned and
sanitised (H.L.M. Lelieveld). They basic
performance expected from the drains are
o Drained floor
o No pounding or standing of water in
product floor
o Designed to carry the maximum
anticipated load to prevent any
problem of flooding at your premises
o Adequate control measures should be
in place to prevent insects and rodents
from entering the processing area
from drains.
o Drain channels shall be at least 15 cm
from the floor and drainage channels
should not place alongside walls
o P -traps to be used that
create a water- lock that keeps
sewer gases out of the plant.
o Drain Channel Material –Stainless
Steel can bear high temperatures, and
it proves excellent in acid resistance.
More importantly, it is anti-bacterial
which is required for food processing
facilities.
o Drain should be accessible for cleaning
and application of sanitizer on routine
basis
o Square bottom trench drains not
recommended due to maintenance
difficulty
o The grates constructed on the drain to
withstand foot traffic and any other
equipment movement.
Heating Ventilation Air conditioning System:
Did you know? Sara Lee hot dog Listeria
incident (USEPA, 2003) occurred due to
airborne contamination. Maintaining clean
and appropriate air pressure becomes very
important. Air flow within a facility should
flow from clean to dirty area. The thumb rule
for food processing areas is a minimum 6±12
air turns per hours i.e. the volume of air in the
room is changed 6±12 times per hour. A
sensitive area like final processing area and
packing highest filtered air pressure should be
used. The ideal HVAC system:
o Cools and heats
o Humidifiers
o Filter for clean air
o Not from contaminated source
o Pressurizes the room
o Keeps ductwork out of the room.
The facility should have air tester to
determine the microbial load of air entering
into the facility. An air tester is even more
important at ready to eat product handling
facility

5. Lighting:
Sufficient amount of lighting is important in
food processing or handling facility in view of
safety, cleaning, sanitization, employee
comfortability and related operations. Few
criteria are:
o Without causing glare
o Preference should be given to lighting
mounted on ceilings rather than on
walls
o Formation of shadows to such an
extent as to cause eye-strain or the
risk of accident to any worker
o Either the light fixtures have an
unbreakable cover or shatter proof
bulbs
o Low UV emissions light should be
considered in processing area to avoid
fly attraction.
In general Metal halide lamps are widely used
in food processing area due to intensities and
distribution capability. USDA generally
suggested range of lighting has been
reproduced below:
Food
Processing
Type
Lighting area Illuminance
(FC)
Meat General 30
Freezer 30
Dry storage 30
Inspection 50
QC Inspection 50
Others 30
Poultry Traditional
inspection
50
NELS /SIS/NTI
Inspection
200
Pre – and Post-
chill inspection
200
Re-inspection 200
QC Control 200
Others 30
Source: LEDs Magazine
Storage: Sufficient facilities to store raw
material, packaging material, immediate
products, finished product, chemical and etc.,
Basic expectations are:
o Separate storage area for raw ,
intermediate , and finished products,
including chilled, frozen, packaging,
cleaning chemical, equipment, and
etc.,
o Access to material storage area should
be controlled
o Cold stores to extent possible
equipped with an automatic
temperature control system to alert
technical personnel when the
temperature rises above the desired
temperature.
o Floors in these areas capable of
withstanding frequent cleaning,
equipment movement.
o To extent possible racks to be made of
chemical / corrosion resistant.
o Designed to enable stock rotation
(FIFO) and batch traceability.
Personal facilities: Hand wash station, Rest
Room, locker room, and break room should
be designed with sanitation in mind. Did you
know? Nearly around 25 % of foodborne
outbreaks can be avoidable if adequate hand

6. washing were accomplished (H.L.M.
Lelieveld). Some of the important criteria are:
o Toilet areas are vented outside of the
plant by exhaust fan
o Katsuyama (1993) stated that the
minimum air flows 35 cubic feet of air
per minute for each of the water
closet or urinal
o Negative air pressure needs to be
maintained at locker and rest room
o Recommended to use maze design so
nothing has to be touched going in
and out of the room.
o Should not open directly in food
processing area
o Floor, Wall, Ceiling shall be in a match
with another part of the facility.
o Hand wash sink should wall hung and
water activated with knee , thigh or
sensor
o Food operated no longer
recommended due to perceived
cleaning difficulties on undersides of
petals.
o Adequate supply of cold and
hot water to exercise hygienic
practices
Reference:
The handbook of hygienic control in the food
industry –edited by H.L.M. Lelieveld
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