About 3-A SSI

History - 3-A Sanitary Standards Inc. Then And Now

The first standards for the hygienic design of equipment used in the dairy industry were introduced in the 1920s. These standards became known as '3-A standards' for the three interest groups that cooperated to improve equipment design and sanitation - regulatory sanitarians, equipment fabricators, and processors.

3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc. was incorporated as an independent not-for-profit corporation in 2002 dedicated to the mission of advancing food safety through hygienic equipment design. The membership consists of three associations: International Dairy Foods Association, Food Processing Suppliers Association and the International Association for Food Protection.

Today’s 3-A SSI maintains a large inventory of design criteria for equipment and processing systems developed using a modern consensus process based on ANSI requirements to promote acceptance by USDA, FDA and state regulatory authorities. 3-A SSI oversees the 3-A Symbol Authorization program and other voluntary certificates to help affirm the integrity of hygienic processing equipment and systems. And 3-A SSI provides extensive Knowledge Resources to support the training and education needs in the rapidly changing food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.