Hygienic Design in Legacy Food Manufacturing Facilities: Risk Evaluation, Prioritization, and Practical Compromises

Jun 16, 2026 (12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Eastern Time)

Webinar Description

Legacy food manufacturing facilities present unique challenges when balancing food safety, employee safety, production demands, and operational realities. Many plants operate with aging infrastructure and equipment designed before modern hygienic standards, and with decades of modifications that introduce hidden risks. This webinar will provide a practical framework for evaluating hygienic design risks in legacy facilities and prioritizing improvements using a risk-based approach. Attendees will explore how risks differ between dry, wet, and mixed-processing environments, including considerations for pathogens, allergens, spoilage organisms, and foreign material hazards. The session will also address the difficult compromises facilities face when shutdowns, budgets, and production pressures limit the availability of ideal solutions. Using industry’s best practices from leading Hygienic Design organizations, participants will learn practical strategies to reassess risk, justify capital improvements, and build more sustainable hygienic design programs for the future.

Learning Objectives:

1.Understand how to evaluate hygienic design risks in legacy food manufacturing facilities, infrastructure, and equipment using a practical risk-based approach.

2.Differentiate hygienic design risks associated with dry, wet, and mixed-processing environments, including considerations for pathogens, allergens, spoilage organisms, and foreign material hazards.

3.Apply prioritization strategies to balance food safety, employee safety, operational demands, and production realities when making hygienic design decisions and compromises.

4.Identify key triggers that should prompt reassessment of hygienic design risk, including facility modifications, environmental monitoring trends, operational changes, and maintenance challenges.

5.Recognize how hygienic design improvements can support broader business objectives through improved cleanability, reduced downtime, enhanced safety, spoilage red