Setting the standard for hygienic equipment design

BACK TO ALL NEWS

Setting the standard for hygienic equipment design

1 Jul 2026

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

WAIMEA, HI — There are plenty of considerations for bakers and suppliers alike to keep top of mind. Chief among them is food safety, a topic that the baking industry has narrowed its focus on and made a top priority.

Recent efforts include the American Bakers Association and AIB Education and Research partnership to develop a first-of-its-kind Bakery Playbook series focused on the topic and a collaboration between BEMA, the American Society of Baking (ASB) and the Bakery Equipment Assessment Group (BEAG) on a sanitary design workshop. ASB also announced a search for subject matter experts to lend their know-how on the revision of the ANSI/ASB Z50.2 Standard for Bakery Equipment — Sanitation Requirements.

The latest conversation on this essential industry subject took place during the 2026 edition of BEMA Convention in Waimea, HI. In the Standards Spotlight panel, moderated by Jeff Shura, senior VP of engineering and technology at Thomasville, GA-based Flowers Foods and BEAG chair, bakers and suppliers from the Baking Industry Forum spoke on hygienic equipment designs, cleanability standards and what the industry needs to safeguard its assets.

For Chad Larson, COO and VP of Springfield, LI-based Mel-O-Cream Donuts, smaller operations such as his rely heavily on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to address concerns. Having a more widespread standard, however, would streamline this challenge.

“We have to have a guideline that we can lean on to give us some better questions when we work with our OEMs on buying equipment,” he said.

Matt Zielsdorf, VP of sales for Midera Food Processing, noted that another barrier caused by diverse standards and guidelines is cost.

“We want things to be safe and cleanable, but it comes at a cost,” he said. “When you approach the customer with something expensive, our fear is that they gravitate towards the lower-cost supplier because maybe they don’t have the same standards. What we want to see is a standard that everybody adheres to, so it takes [cost] off the table.”

“We have to have a guideline that we can lean on to give us some better questions when we work with our OEMs on buying equipment.” — Chad Larson | COO and VP | Mel-O-Cream Donuts

With operations across the globe, standards vary from region to region, making it difficult for suppliers with international business to make a one-size-fits-all piece of equipment. Several food safety equipment standards, including ANSI, serve as guides, but establishing a single consistent guideline would benefit everyone.

“The reality is, we don’t need a new acronym or new standards,” said Nick Magistrelli, VP of sales at Rademaker USA. “We’ve just got to pick one and set the bar, and quite honestly, I think it has to come from the bakery side and directed toward [equipment manufacturers].”

Magistrelli noted that the priority is to make the equipment safe and easy to clean. If bakers speak up about what they need from their machines in terms of sanitation and food safety standards, suppliers can innovate accordingly.

Advertisement

BACK TO ALL NEWS