Food Safety and Biosecurity are two critical design elements widely addressed within sea food processing and land-based aquaculture facilities and equipment. According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases . Beginning with the American Meat Institute’s (AMI) Design Task Force in 2002 and later supported by the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) , the Principles of Sanitary Design were developed to prevent problems rather than react after they occur . These best practices provide strong motivation to implement sanitary design and lower operating costs. Facilities utilizing the best hygienic design standards can be cleaned faster, with fewer chemicals, less labor, and lower wastewater treatment costs. In many similar operations, yields improve while product and waste reduce, so higher asset utilization results and product safety is enhanced.
These critical design elements apply to the design and construction of any land-based aquaculture facility , especially those considering integrating a downstream seafood processing operation . These elements are summarized as:
4. Control the movement of personnel and material flows to reduce cross-contamination.
5. Control water accumulation.
6. Control the room temperature and humidity.
7. Control the r oom airflow and air quality.
8. B uilding envelope supports sanitary conditions.
9. Integrate RAS and other equipment into a spatial design that provides accessible maintenance, cleaning, and sanitation to microbiological levels.
10. Utilize construction methods that facilitate sanitary conditions and building materials made of compatible materials.
11. Design u tility systems that prevent contamination and harbourage areas for bacteria and moisture to collect.
Keywords: seafood safety and security, best aquaculture practice, land-based aquaculture,
food processing, food safety, biosecurity