scope:

This 3-A Sanitary Standard covers the sanitary aspects of mechanical strainers used for processing a mixture of liquid milk, milk products, and other liquid comestibles containing particulates. The equipment receives the product into a chamber (i.e., housing) which contains the components used for mechanically separating the product into two or more streams. The equipment shall start at the point where the product in-feed piping is connected to the mechanical strainer and ends at the points where the streams exit the mechanical strainer.

This standard does not apply to vibratory screeners, belt-type screeners, centrifugal separators or decanters.

In order to conform to these 3-A Sanitary Standards, mechanical straining equipment shall comply with the following design, material, and fabrication criteria.