3-A Committee on Sanitary Procedures
Mission Statement
To serve as IAFP representatives to the 3-A Sanitary Standards Committee; to review and provide comments on proposed changes and revisions to the 3-A Sanitary Standards
Upcoming Meeting
July 22, 2012
Rhode Island Convention Center
Providence, Rhode Island
- Committee Members (IAFP Member Access Required)
- IAFP Constitution and Bylaws
How to Join
Involvement in committees and professional development groups (PDGs) offers Members the opportunity to share a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Members of committees and PDGs are the architects of the Association structure. They plan, develop and institute many of the Association's projects, including workshops, publications and educational sessions. Technical challenges facing the food safety industry are discussed, examined and debated. Members may volunteer to serve on any number of committees or PDGs that plan and implement activities to meet the Association's mission.
Special Committees provide support services to IAFP on a continuous basis. Individuals are recommended by the Chairperson, subject to the Executive Board's review. Membership appointments are for 2-year renewable terms. Requests for membership should be directed to the Chairperson.
Committee Minutes
Below are downloadable documents containing current and past meeting minutes.
Board Response to Recommendations
Recommendations to Executive Board:
Background. Since the inception of 3-A Sanitary Standards, IAFP has been a key partner in this important food equipment standards development body. In fact, an IAFP precursor organization (the International Association of Milk and Dairy Inspectors) was one of the three original associations of 3-A, along with associations representing dairy equipment manufacturers and dairy processors. 3-A standards have also been developed for egg products and pharmaceutical equipment (P3-A).
The IAFP committee, currently named the 3-A Committee on Sanitary Procedures (CSP), has solidified the IAFP/3-A partnership, through active participation of CSP members in the development of 3-A Sanitary Standards and Practices. In addition, CSP members serve in leadership roles in the 3-A Steering Committee and Interpretations Committee. Through its partnership with 3-A, IAFP also has a bridge with the European food equipment standards community through collaboration of 3-A and European Hygienic Engineering Design Group (EHEDG). With the reorganization of 3-A and formation of 3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc. (3-A SSI), IAFP became a founding member, is represented on the 3-A SSI Board of Directors by two IAFP members, and the 3-A CSP was affirmed as an IAFP committee.
The primary role of CSP has been its involvement in the 3-A standards development process and its primary membership base has been state dairy regulatory sanitarians. However, CSP has also served as an active committee of IAFP through development of symposia and workshops and through collaborative projects with the Dairy Quality and Safety PDG. The CSP has evolved into IAFP's leading group in sanitary design, an important area of food protection and sanitation. With depth in sanitary engineering principles, CSP programs at IAFP meetings have been well attended and have had a broader interest to IAFP members at large from a variety of disciplines. Sanitary design has had increased interest in recent years with concerns for cross contamination from allergen residues in poorly cleaned and poorly designed food processing equipment, as well as recent food safety initiatives in the regulatory and industrial communities.
The discipline and/or focus and activities of CSP have traditionally been in sanitary design. However, the committee name does not adequately reflect the depth of involvement in this discipline. This has created some confusion among IAFP members regarding the committee's role and some possible overlap with Professional Development Groups (PDGs), which deal with more general sanitation issues.
1. Change the name of the committee to Sanitary Equipment and Facility Design Committee to more adequately reflect its focus and activities within IAFP.
Board Response: The request for a name change is recognized and will be discussed with the 3-A Sanitary Standards organization.
2. Form a 3-A subgroup of the Sanitary Equipment and Facility Design Committee to allow for continued and enhanced involvement in the 3-A standards development process, and representation in 3-A leadership.
Board Response: The alternative structure for this Committee will be investigated further.
3. Critically evaluate the current relationships between 3-A and IAFP, with the objective of enhancing future growth and development of both organizations.
Board Response: Agree. This fits together with recommendation #1 and #2.