3-A Sanitary Standards Inc. (3-A SSI) has published a new edition of its standard for farm milk cooling and holding tanks, and released an updated version of its foundational hygienic equipment design standard.

Representing the standard’s 12^th edition, the 3‑A Sanitary Standard for Farm Milk Cooling and Holding Tanks, 13‑12 refines structure, modernizes terminology, and clarifies critical hygienic design expectations to support manufacturers, processors, system integrators, sanitarians, and regulators. The effective date for the new edition is January 23, 2026.

Additionally, 3-A SSI released the third edition of its General Requirements Standard (00-02), which aims to bring clarity to critical design requirements while accommodating modern manufacturing technologies. The General Requirements Standard sets the baseline for hygienic equipment design across the food and beverage industry. It defines acceptable materials, construction methods, and design principles for food and beverage processing equipment. Key updates in the most recent version cover seal requirements, clean-in-place (CIP) gasket joints, mandatory leak detection, modern accepted test methods, and updated definitions.

For equipment currently authorized to display the 3-A Symbol, the symbol holder should contact 3-A SSI regarding transition requirements.