Food and beverage end users face three major regulatory challenges in sanitation: employee training on requirements (54%), getting stakeholders aligned (36%), and keeping up with changing regulations (34%). Understanding these obstacles helps companies improve compliance and operational efficiency.
- Employee training is the top regulatory challenge, cited by 54% of end users in sanitation operations
- Stakeholder alignment ranks second at 36%, followed by staying current with regulations at 34%
- Additional challenges include meeting cleaning standards (36%), compliance reporting (34%), and retail traceability requirements (33%)
- Third-party certifications significantly influence end-user decision-making and can differentiate equipment during machine evaluations
- The findings come from 130 industry professional surveys, with 77% from CPGs or contract packagers
Food safety and sanitation processes in the food and beverage industry are governed by several regulations, including the Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA) in the U.S. and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) in Canada. End users identify three notable challenges of adhering to regulations, which revolve around employee training, stakeholders, and staying up to date with regulations.
That’s according to PMMI Business Intelligence’s “Food Safety and Sanitation Trends: End User, OEM, and Supplier Perspectives,” a report that explores the essentialism of adhering to food safety regulations and effectively executing sanitation strategies through information on regulations, strategies, and exclusive insight. The report’s findings are based on 130 surveys/interviews with industry professionals, 77% of whom are CPGs or contract packagers, and 23% who are OEMs and suppliers.
When asked about the top regulatory challenges faced in sanitation operations, 54% of end users reported training employees on regulatory requirements as the top obstacle, 36% said getting stakeholders on the same page was next in line, and 34% indicated keeping track of regulations as the third challenge.
Other challenges end users noted include meeting required cleaning and setting standard protocols (36%), reporting and tracking compliance (34%), complying with retail requirements for active food traceability beyond regulatory requirements (33%), reporting tracking and compliance (28%), communicating best practices to consumers (18%), providing key data elements (KDEs) for certain foods to supply chain partners (15%), and finding third-party services that adequately adhere to regulations (14%).
In addition to government-mandated regulations, several third-party organizations offer industry and product-specific certifications for machinery. End users report valuing different certifications depending on the industry, with the key takeaway being that these certifications play a role in end-user decision-making. This means OEMs will need to be aware of design requirements for certifications that their customers value. Equipment certifications from these organizations could be a differentiator during machine evaluations.
SOURCE: 2025 Food Safety and Sanitation Trends: End User, OEM, and Supplier Perspectives
For more insights from PMMI’s Business Intelligence team, find reports, including “2025 Beverage Packaging Trends“ and 2025 Performance Optimization: Insights for Packaging Line Readiness” at pmmi.org/business-intelligence.
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