Creating Food-Safe Environments

The WEBBER/SMITH Group® branded companies are independent full-service Engineering and Building Design firms providing food-safe, comprehensive, and sustainable engineering and building design solutions to the Food & Beverage industry.

Know More

WEBBER/SMITH has earned a reputation for excellence in helping clients design new processes and buildings and improve their existing operations by creating food-safe environments that aid compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standards.  The demand for a variety of clean-label Ready-To-Eat (RTE) prepared foods and fresh produce, and Ready-To-Drink (RTD) beverages, creates quality and safety challenges for our clients requiring stringent cross-contamination and allergen controls.  Additionally, the need to produce a wide-range of food and beverage products has increased processing and packaging complexity, creating a dynamic environment where our engineers must create facility and process designs that are flexible while meeting modern food safety guidelines.  To create these food-safe environments for our clients, our design team considers all applicable government and third-party standards regulating our clients’ businesses.  Regulatory agencies such as the FDA and the USDA have governing authority over most food processing operations in the United States.  In addition to these domestic regulations, many of our client’s customers require certification to GFSI schemes such as Safe Quality Food (SQF) and British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Key Factors We Consider to Create Food-Safe Facility Layouts and Designs

  • Site Sanitary Conditions and Controlling Facility Access Points
  • Security Around Shipping & Receiving, Raw Materials and Ingredients Storage, Processing and Packaging Areas
  • When Possible, Design a Linear Production Flow to Aid the Isolation of Raw from Finished Goods
  • Establish High Care, Low Care, High Risk, Low Risk Zones
  • Define Personnel Flow and Food-Safe Employee Access from Employee Welfare to Processing Areas
  • Isolate Employee Sanitization Areas for Gowning, Hand and Boot Washing
  • Specify Materials & Finishes That Will Create a Cleanable Sanitary Environment and Eliminate Macrobiological and Microbiological Harborage Areas
  • Map Drain Systems and Design Pocket-free Drains with Atmospheric Breaks and Back-Flow Prevention
  • Route Piping, Conduit and Ductwork to Reduce Surfaces Where Dirt Can Collect
  • Avoid Piping and Structural Components Above Open Processing Areas
  • Integrate Utility Piping into Wall Compartments or Above Ceilings
  • Detail Sanitary Penetration of Piping through Walls, Ceilings and Floors
  • Isolate the Storage of Chemical Hazards
  • Maintain Acceptable Product Temperatures and Humidity Levels in Raw Storage, Processing, And Finished Goods Storage Areas

Our experienced design team develops facility layouts and process designs that serve as the foundation for our clients to implement an effective and reliable food safety plan.

Our Work

Our team embraces client initiatives as our own, promptly responding with services that are food-safe, scalable, cost-effective, and well-executed, striving to exceed every client’s expectations.

View Projects