ALEXANDRIA, Va. — April 30, 2021 — Miller’s Textile Services, a family-owned laundry supplying Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Northern Kentucky with uniforms and linens, towels, mats and janitorial supplies for 75 years, has recently achieved renewal for the Hygienically Clean Food Service certification. The western Ohio launderer also holds current certifications for Hygienically Clean Healthcare and Food Safety. These certifications reflect Miller’s consistent commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and its capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.
Hygienically Clean Food Service certification recognizes textile services operations supplying the restaurant industry and other food service establishments. Certified laundries commit to cleanliness through third-party, quantified biological testing and inspection. This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and best management practices for servicing full- and limited- service restaurants, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions and other locations where food is handled and served.
Hygienically Clean Food Service inspectors verify laundry practices including washing procedures (detergent formulas, temperature, disinfectant, pH, extraction), drying, garment inspection and transportation. Each certified laundry plant’s operational flowchart is evaluated, ensuring these procedures (as well as pickup, unloading and sorting of soiled items and sorting of clean laundry) are mapped. Employees’ use of personal protective equipment must be documented.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) practices are examined, including the plant’s techniques for:
- Conducting hazard analysis;
- Determining CCPs, monitoring their control, correcting them if not under control;
- Validating and verifying HACCP system effectiveness; and
- Documenting and record-keeping to show ongoing conformance.
To attain any of the Hygienically Clean certifications, the laundry must submit to a facility inspection and laundered products must pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and diminished presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly RODAC and semi-annual USP 62 testing (RODAC results less than or equal to 20 cfu per square diameter and USP 62 results must show an absence of specified microorganisms) to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained. Re-inspection occurs every two to three years.
Posted May 1, 2021
Source: TRSA
