ANSI/3-A 00-01-2018, 3-A Sanitary Standard for General Requirements (GR) 5-Year Revision Planned

^{3-A SSI has maintained the GR as the keystone for its entire document catalog since the first approval and publication in 2014 (ANSI/3-A 00-00-2014), an American National Standard (ANS). An update was issued in 2018.  Our procedures and ANSI requirements call for a periodic review of any ANS, which includes a formal project initiation notification, public comment, special balloting provisions, resolution of all comments and appeals, and final approval through ANSI’s Executive Board of Standards Review and publication. Special provisions to announce and canvass a final consensus body will afford all materially and directly influenced parties opportunity to comment on the ANS designated prescriptive Standard, which defines the minimum critical hygienic design dimensions for food processing equipment and their systems. 3-A SSI expects to announce an open application period to join this important consensus body in 2024. The Consensus Body will review the proposed draft T-00-01-A under its full 5-year revision, propose additional revisions, vote, resolve comments, and approve the final draft for ANS designation and publication.}  

^{Highlights of Proposed Substantive Changes}

^{Now in the final stages of draft review of additions and deletions made by Working Group 14, a review of some of the major substantive changes that could potentially be adopted is worth a glance. For starters, Members of WG14 spent considerable time reviewing proposed expansion of the scope to personal care products, but so far, the scope remains current with the addition of “systems.” This 3-A Sanitary Standard defines the general requirements for sanitary (hygienic) equipment or systems intended for processing milk, milk products, foods, food ingredients, beverages, or other edible materials. In lieu of changing the scope, a proposed change in the definition of product has been offered with inclusion of personal care products, other manufactured goods, ingredients, and intermediates that are hygienically handled, processed, or stored.”}

^{Several other proposed additions definitely show the age of modernization has squarely arrived in the global food processing arena. The proposed addition of American Welding Society’s C6.2/C6.2M:2006, Specification for Friction Welding of Metals, a new proposed definition for additive manufacturing, and addition of 3-A Sanitary Standard for Automated Milking Installations, 102-00 reflect the modernization of manufacturing and automation in the food processing environment.}

^{Definitions for mechanical force seals, enclosed threads, and surface imperfections have been proposed, mainly to usher in appropriate guidance for the application and uniform approach to reviewing equipment, future revisions and potential adoption for and differentiation from a potential new single seal standard, and other equipment not described in 3-A Sanitary Standards or Accepted Practices.}

^{Further proposed additions and deletions are mainly to ensure the clarity of the requirement and the inclusion of ancillary surfaces if juxtaposed, bonded, joined, or welded. However, one of the largest changes worth mentioning is the industry pushing for greater corrosion resistance in welds. We heard from many equipment fabricators and end-users/food manufacturers that there is a serious need to increase corrosion resistance for welded metals. Within the materials section of the GR, a proposed change from .08% carbon content to a .03% carbon content as a maximum threshold was made. Requirements for metals are also provided with an informative Appendix of commonly used and special high corrosion resistant alloys.}

^{We expect to make formal announcement of an open call for comment on the GR during the Working Group Ballot period for approval of draft T-00-01-A in early 2024. It is important to ensure all stakeholders have an opportunity to comment as we shepherd in necessary minimum criteria for hygienic design for the safety of the user and products we use. We look forward to adoption of these important updates, so that work on peripheral standards and accepted practices is practicable.}

^{For more information you may contact Eric Schweitzer, Director of Standards and Certification: erics@3-a.org.}

^{The specific activity of all active Working Group projects is always kept updated and available on our Standards and Committees/ Working Group webpage:  www.3-a.org}