Why Sanitizer Compatibility is Important
Did you know? The type of towels your establishment uses could be preventing effective concentrations of sanitizer from reaching the surfaces you clean.
Why sanitizer compatibility is important
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, roughly 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne illnesses each year, and half of these cases originate in restaurant establishments.[1] Costs associated with foodborne illnesses range from $12-25 billion annually, and a single outbreak could run into millions of dollars for a foodservice operation. A restaurant’s hygiene depends on a number of factors. One of the most important contributing factors is the sanitization of various surfaces in the restaurant.
Proper cleaning will remove dirt, food, and other particles which are visible but will not kill bacteria, fungi, or microbes. Ensuring the effective delivery of a sanitizing agent can reduce many of these harmful pathogens.[2] Sanitization standards for food contact surfaces and non-food contact surfaces are the reduction of contamination by 99.999% and 99.9%, respectively.[3] To achieve this, various chemicals are used at specific concentrations and left on the surface for specific lengths of time.
The Problem
The full potency of sanitizer should be delivered in order to kill germs, bacteria, or other viruses left behind following routine cleaning practices. The most common sanitizers used for foodservice applications are: quaternary ammonium salts (quats), bleach (sodium hypochlorite), and hydrogen peroxide. Cotton, paper, and standard nonwoven towels are not suitable for surface cleaning because they chemically bind with these sanitizers, making a portion of the sanitizing agent rendered unavailable so that it will not release onto the surface.
Restaurants risk foodborne illness outbreaks, health code violations, and significant loss of revenue if their towels cannot deliver the proper ppm of sanitizer to surfaces. Even if an establishment follows strict cleaning and sanitizing protocols, customers may still be exposed to harmful bacteria if the towels used are not able to lay down sanitizers properly.[4]
The Solution
Restaurants can practice safe cleaning and sanitization by educating staff and offering proper training. Understanding the potential risks associated with ineffective sanitization is important, but restaurants must also be able to provide the proper equipment to achieve a hygienic environment. When using solutions such as quat, chlorine, and hydrogen peroxide to sanitize surfaces, the towel should be specifically engineered to prevent chemical binding with the sanitization agent in the solution.
Chix Towels work with the sanitizer of your choice to release effective levels of sanitizing solution to foodservice surfaces. These towels feature proprietary nonwoven technologies that will not consume the active sanitizing ingredients, but rather allow the sanitizer to release from the towel onto surfaces unlike cotton, paper, or standard nonwoven towels.
The Result
Testing proves that Chix® SC Sanitizer Compatible Foodservice Towels outperform cotton and paper towels by 200%, and shows how Chix Professional Series towels perform the best over time. They consistently release the required PPM of sanitizer to surfaces compared to generic foodservice towels that may deplete the solution’s proper sanitizing strength, a violation of the FDA code.
Using a chemical compatible towel gives your restaurant the opportunity to deliver a safe and healthy experience for customers, while additionally protecting your establishment from potential consequences. At Chicopee, we are committed to supporting your business with products that help improve employee and customer health and safety by helping reduce the risk of food-borne illness outbreaks and community-acquired infections, while aiding productivity in a sustainable manner.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html
[2] https://restaurant.org/articles/operations/3-tips-sanitary-food-contact-surfaces
