Schweitzer to Speak in Two Sessions

3-A SSI Director, Standards and Certifications EricSchweitzer will speak in two sessions at the IAFP Annual Meeting:

“Hygienic Restoration: Rethinking Risk  ,Investment, and Continuity in Food Facilities”

Monday, Jul 27, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Room 225-227

In this session, a panel of experts will wrestle with the difficult (but common) dilemma posed by legacy facilities that were built for performance, not necessarily for hygiene.

Panelists will challenge conventional thinking about infrastructure and equipment upgrades, exploring "good, better, and best" solutions and how to weigh them through the lens of total cost of ownership, not just upfront expense.

The session will also look at the case for investment in hygienic restoration over other capital priorities and the balance between project execution and production continuity once construction is underway.

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“Translating 100 Years of Hygienic Design fromFood Processing Environments into Food Service, Food Retail Equipment, andFacility Design”

Tuesday, July 28, from 10:45 a.m.to 12:15 p.m.

Room 210

3-A Sanitary Standards and, more generally, hygienic design have been "a thing" in the food processing industry for decades. Food service and food retail environments, however, haven’t fully embraced hygienic design concepts. 

This roundtable will bring together a group of experts to discuss how learning and experience from food processing hygienic design implementation can flow to food service and retail. 

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Be our guest! Register free with code 73T09.‍

Visit 3-A SSI in booth N-4539 and see our team present from the Industry Speaks stage (N-4544) on Wednesday, October 21, at 12:30 PM CDT. Our booth is located in the Association Pavillion, near the North Building entrance, and directly across from the Industry Speaks stage.

Meri Beth Wojtaszek, 3-A SSI Executive Director, and Eric Schweitzer, 3-A SSI Director, Standards & Certifications, will present "Spec It Right: What Smart Equipment Buyers Do Before the First Quote." The presentation will give food and beverage processors good information and resources to inform equipment purchasing decisions.

Equipment purchases in food and beverage processing are 10- to 20-year commitments. The difference between equipment that performs and equipment that causes problems — longer CIP cycles, failed inspections, contamination risk — comes down to what you require before you sign the purchase order.  

This session gives attendees two practical tools they can use immediately: a Total Cost of Ownership Calculator that translates surface finish, drainage design, and maintenance accessibility into real facility costs, and the 3-A SSI Certified Equipment Directory, a live verification database of 650+ certified equipment manufacturers searchable by equipment category, sector, and certificate status.

Attendees will also hear directly from 3-A Symbol Holders on what separates buyers who get it right from buyers who don't.  Leave with a framework for writing equipment specifications that protect your facility — and the tools to back them up.