The first standards for the hygienic design of equipment used in the dairy industry were introduced in the 1920s. These standards became known as “3-A standards” for the three groups that cooperated to improve equipment design and sanitation: regulatory sanitarians, equipment fabricators and processors.
Many packagers—particularly those in the produce, meat, poultry and seafood markets—require the highest levels of sanitation available. Long before the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed, these forward-thinking companies provided information on how to improve bagger sanitation to meet their needs.