During Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) inspections, the most commonly found nonconformities are associated with food-safety maintenance. Typical nonconformities are often rooted in inadequate equipment design, poor or substandard construction materials, inadequate finishing and installation, difficult or no access and the lack of appropriate and timely cleaning and maintenance.
These problems and conditions can result in lower inspection ratings and higher risk adulteration of the manufacturing environment and product. Normally, such nonconformities are resolved via corrective actions and, in most cases, that’s the end of the story—until the next inspection, when new or old nonconformities are identified, scheduled or rescheduled for further corrective actions. This never-ending cycle of addressing the symptoms instead of the root causes due to an unsanitary design is both wasteful and, from a regulatory point of view, indefensible.