Using shipping containers as modular rooms in food manufacturing

Hi all,

Currently working on a project that came up with a bit of an unusual idea: to use shipping containers/seacans as rooms within a production facility - for various reasons, including financial. Products are low risk, not RTE and liquid/paste, looking at getting SQF certified in the future.

There are some impracticalities that need to be solved (e.g. stepping into/out of the rooms) but I'm wondering from a food safety perspective, are there any (glaring) objections against this? 

The containers would be properly finished, PVC panels on the inside walls, ventilation system to enable positive air pressure, proper procedures in place with regards to cleaning, a floor drain in the production room etc. The shipping containers would be inside a building that is up to requirements (walls, floor, facilities)

Am I missing something? Has this been done before? It's hard to find examples online.

Thank you all.

No direct objections, but thinking from an auditor's shoes:

-How do you prevent pests from hiding under the container?  How do you sanitize the floor under the container to prevent bacteria harboridge?  Sitting on the concrete of your production room, there will be gaps on the underside.

-Drains from the room:  Are they plumbed to the regular drains in the facility?  If so, does the drain pipe run across the production floor?  If so, what do you do when the drain pipe leaks?

-Non-food safety concerns would be fire sprinklers.  I had to make sure fire sprinklers were under open mezzanines in my spice plant, so an enclosed space like a container would probably need sprinklers run into it.

Dare I suggest the cost of properly furnishing the interior of a $2,000 container is not so much more than having a qualified GC build you a room where you want it that alleviates some of the issues with a big shipping container.

I have seen entire facilities built out of containers in Panama and Costa Rica, however very few standards were applied. While I have seen containers used in the US these were used for office space and not for production rooms. However ut would seen this is doable given your wall surfaces - you will need to review requirements for flooring and floor wall junction (C*#! base) area however.

We are in the planning stage to purchase 7 - 50 foot shipping containers that have been converted to high tech hydroponic growing farms so I see what you are talking about as being quite doable. 

Jerry, just mentioned $2000 shipping containers... gee whiz I want some of those - round here a used shipper is about 20,000.

Why is the forum system changing my words????

No direct objections, but thinking from an auditor's shoes:

 

-How do you prevent pests from hiding under the container?  How do you sanitize the floor under the container to prevent bacteria harboridge?  Sitting on the concrete of your production room, there will be gaps on the underside.

 

-Drains from the room:  Are they plumbed to the regular drains in the facility?  If so, does the drain pipe run across the production floor?  If so, what do you do when the drain pipe leaks?

 

-Non-food safety concerns would be fire sprinklers.  I had to make sure fire sprinklers were under open mezzanines in my spice plant, so an enclosed space like a container would probably need sprinklers run into it.

 

Dare I suggest the cost of properly furnishing the interior of a $2,000 container is not so much more than having a qualified GC build you a room where you want it that alleviates some of the issues with a big shipping container.

Thanks for the input! The containers would actually be lifted (and maybe even put on casters if possible) so there would be ample space underneath to try and control this hazard. It would be 2x 8ft wide, accessible from both sides so cleaning should be possible too, maybe with a bit of creativity.

The production room container would be setup next to an actual wall that has the possibility of plumbing, so a floor drain could go there and that's not a walkway - the container would be almost a foot of the wall purely for requirements of pest control and cleaning purposes (just like shelving 10" off the wall). No fire sprinklers in the building. 

The problem we're having is not just financial, but a variety of considerations and that's why we're considering it. 

Jerry, just mentioned $2000 shipping containers... gee whiz I want some of those - round here a used shipper is about 20,000.

Seacans are pretty affordable here now (British Columbia) actually, and the cost to have them converted with windows/doors and some metal fabrication is surprisingly affordable. 

I've designed a 5 container system to be completely self contained and movable for raw, ready to eat tuna. Office space, locker rooms, processing room, ice production and cold storage. Containers connected to one another, so no leaving the envelope. My hope is have the units "pre-inspected" for SQF before deployment. We build out these plants in risky places and we are doing it for two reasons - one, materials and expertise need to be shipped in anyway so why not build in the US, and, two, political risk in these countries. In the case of political risk, if things go tits up, we can pull our infrastructure and put it on a freighter in a day or two. 

There is also a company in Turkey, Cantek - https://www.cantekgr...essing-Facility, that makes one for commercial purposes. I know of a couple of companies in the US that are exploring portable meat processing facilities for use in rural areas with low access to processing facilities. I'm not finding them in my notes right now. 

(I can also get used containers for $1500 in the southern US on an major rail line)

I have seen entire facilities built out of containers in Panama and Costa Rica, however very few standards were applied. While I have seen containers used in the US these were used for office space and not for production rooms. However ut would seen this is doable given your wall surfaces - you will need to review requirements for flooring and floor wall junction (C*#! base) area however.

 

We are in the planning stage to purchase 7 - 50 foot shipping containers that have been converted to high tech hydroponic growing farms so I see what you are talking about as being quite doable. 

I badly want to build a house out of them.  I don't even know why.  

I badly want to build a house out of them.  I don't even know why.  

I've gone down that road all the way to nearly building. It really doesn't save you much over stick built, so you don't do it for cost, but it vastly speeds up construction particularly on challenging sites where you can build out or partially build out the container in a place with adequate power and other infrastructure and simply place/assemble on your site (think off-grid). 

I've gone down that road all the way to nearly building. It really doesn't save you much over stick built, so you don't do it for cost, but it vastly speeds up construction particularly on challenging sites where you can build out or partially build out the container in a place with adequate power and other infrastructure and simply place/assemble on your site (think off-grid). 

ya, I didnt get too far down the road.   Except looking at land and what I thought were neat looking houses that like you said cost nearly the "same as stick built".   Wife seemed to hate the idea.   Died.    lol.   

If the steel is properly finished to avoid corrosion, and adequate spacing is maintained for thorough sanitation, I don't see any other issues that don't exist for other large equipment in a production area.

Would anybody have any examples or inspiration that I can check out?

Would anybody have any examples or inspiration that I can check out?

Check the link I posted above for the Cantek Group. Or Google that name. They have full 3d models of fish, red meat and poultry processing facilities based on containers. They are also very happy to chat about them.

Looks very interesting, thank you for that