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3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc., the steward of hygienic equipment standards for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries, announced a new competition for interdisciplinary collegiate teams. Winners, in addition to making a substantial contribution to food safety, will share $10,000 in prize money.
In the 3-A SSI Student Hygienic Design Competition, student teams representing leading collegiate food science, engineering, microbiology, and related academic programs will collaborate to develop solutions to a longstanding food and packaging industry problem and will use the 3-A Sanitary Standards as the foundation of their proposed solutions.
“The Student Hygienic Design Competition addresses a dual industry need: developing improved hygienic design solutions and cultivating early-career professionals who are skilled in hygienic design from the start,” says Meri Beth Wojtaszek, Executive Director of 3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc. “This competition, which will be both educational and fun, will provide talented students with an introduction to 3-A Sanitary Standards and encourage them to pursue a career in food safety."
The competition is structured to bridge the academic experience to the business world. Each team will be paired with a coach who has substantial experience with the 3-A Sanitary Standards. Coaches will guide student teams throughout the competition, providing technical expertise, industry insights, and professional mentorship.
The Problem to Be Solved
In the 2026 inaugural competition, student teams will be asked to develop a solution that completely removes dry powder products from packaging system components between production runs – without introducing moisture.
Dry powder processing systems, which handle products such as dairy powder and infant formula, struggle to establish a "clean break" between production runs without wet cleaning. Current dry cleaning methods, such as air, vacuum, vibration, and product purges, are insufficient. These methods often leave residual powder in "hang up" points such as in compressed surface areas, pipe elbows and bends, flanges and connections, equipment crevices, and dead spaces in vessels.
Residual powder in persistently dry environments can harbor pathogens of concern, including Salmonella and Cronobacter, which survive extended periods in hot, desiccated conditions. Wet cleaning methods are not a good option in these production lines, because the introduction of moisture and nutrients causes these organisms to proliferate, creating significant food safety risks.
Effective solutions will:
- Demonstrate measurably improved powder release compared to current industry standards
- Provide quantitative data on surface performance (friction, adhesion, electrostatics, etc.)
- Meet food safety and regulatory requirements
- Show practical applicability to real industrial equipment
- Consider both food safety impact and operational cost benefits
- Include a clear implementation pathway for industry adoption
The winning team will be honored at the 3-A SSI 2026 Summit on Hygienic Design, May 4 to 7, 2026, at the Marriott Chicago O’Hare.
Access team registration and get more information about the competition.
