Cleanliness is next to godliness
With the Food Safety Authority in Ireland recently reporting that it served nine closure orders on businesses in June and seven closure orders in July, the importance of observing good store hygiene is clearly imperative if businesses want to avoid serious consequences.
Print11 September 2014
Hygiene critical in customer experience
Hygiene standards in retail outlets are becoming a critical factor in the customer experience, where first impressions create a lasting impact on customer loyalty, says Liam Smith, sales director from Tork manufacturer SCA.
By having appropriate provision of suitable cleaning and hygiene solutions behind the counter and in public washrooms, staff are able to monitor and maintain hygiene standards through a combination of innovative dispensing solutions and appropriate disposable paper products suitable for each cleaning task.
Selecting the systems required to provide adequate hygiene whether in the washrooms or behind the counter should be an important step for any manager or store owner. Systems should be quick and easy to use and ensure a long-lasting supply of consumables. Factors to consider are cost, paper quality, robustness, hygiene and aesthetics. Dispensers should also be easy to refill and keep clean so that maintenance can be carried out quickly during the day. Products should also be chosen carefully to fulfil the primary need for each task. For example, is the cleaning product food contact approved?
Tork from SCA is the leading brand in Europe in paper hygiene solutions and can provide expert support to any retailer looking for advice in this area.
Tork Reflex Single-sheet Centrefeed System is a perfect example of a hygienic system for behind the counter. High quality wiper rolls housed in a smart dispenser system ensures that the user has adequate supply of centrefeed to keep surfaces clean and tidy. With a unique single-sheet mechanism, the system helps the user take exactly what they need without over consuming, helping to keep an eye on waste and on costs.
For hand hygiene the Tork Foam Soap system is an ideal solution. It comes in a cartridge that can be changed in a matter of seconds. Bulk fill soap systems take time to refill and will potentially lead to mess on the floor or units. This will not only result in more time spent cleaning, it could also cause a potential slip hazard for washroom users.
For hand drying the high-capacity span Tork Matic dispenser also works well in this type of environment since the unit holds sufficient paper for more than 400 hand dries. The system is also available in a touch-free Intuitionsensor version that allows users to take a towel without ever needing to touch the dispenser further enhancing the level of hygiene.
For a retail washroom, clean, functional toilets are what are required by the user, but managers will require systems that encourage easy maintenance and less waste. Tork SmartOne Twin Mini System which can be topped up in use, is widely used where high capacity and robust dispensers are important factors in choosing the right solution.
In exclusive shops where the key aim is to impress the customer, a foam soap in a touch-free dispenser will help to maintain customer expectations. Fragranced Tork Luxury Foam Soap is available in the Tork Aluminium dispenser or black Tork Elevation dispenser, both of which come in a touch-free Intuition sensor version.
If a wall-mounted dispenser is preferred, the Tork Xpress Multifold Hand Towel Dispenser works well, particularly when supplied in either a Tork Aluminium or black Tork Elevation finish. The towels inside can be embossed with a lilac, blue or silver grey leaf pattern to add to the upmarket effect.
The Tork brand can provide all levels of quality from softness to high absorbency. The brand’s toilet tissue can be supplied with an embossed soft blue or silver grey leaf to add to the impression of luxury and complement the hand towel choice. And a moisturiser such as Tork Non-perfumed Hand and Body Lotion, plus a toilet seat cleaner – such as the Tork Toilet Seat Cleaner – will provide an added level of care.
Tork is the number one hygiene supplier in Europe. For more information, go to www.tork.ie.
Problematic pests
Rentokil knows a pest-free environment is crucial to maintain excellent food hygiene standards in the food retail business, and the company says it can help any business maintain these hygiene standards at all times.
More than in any other industry, food retailers know there is no question of trying to save money or cut corners on pest control. In the event of an infestation, a business could suffer hefty legal costs and irreversible damage to its brand image and customer loyalty.
For this reason, pest control in the food retail industry has evolved into a specialist field, requiring compliance with specific regulations, the expertise and advice of dedicated experts, the most advanced technology and a thorough commitment from the retailers themselves.
Food safety laws make it is an offence to sell food that does not comply with food safety requirements. Food damaged by pests, or contaminated by their droppings or urine, is considered unfit for human consumption. In such cases, Environmental Health Officers have the right to seize such foods for destruction, and to demand that remedial works be undertaken.
A quality pest control company should therefore be the food retailer’s first point of call when deciding on a pest control strategy; Rentokil is the key authority on pest control and prevention, risk assessment and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) compliance. Rentokil employs highly skilled trained technicians, who are trained to identify the specific requirements of retailers and have a high level of experience in the food retail industry.
Food retailers should also ensure that they are aware of the latest developments in pest control technology, keeping up with any new information and trend analysis in this area.
For example, Rentokil’s innovative Radar unit, was designed specifically with the food industry in mind. The Radar unit is a non-toxic solution for rodent problems. If a mouse breaks the infrared beams inside the unit, it trips a circuit that immediately closes both entrances and carbon dioxide is released. Using carbon dioxide and infrared technology rather than poison, the Radar unit complies with the necessary auditing authority standards regarding the use of non-toxic substances in the food industry.
One stop solution for compliance requirements
Group Learner Limited has announced a partnership with Food Safety Solutions which adds a full Food Compliance Consultancy Team to the Group Learner service offering.
The Group Learner platform is the market leading quality and learning management system (QLMS) being used in the food industry in the UK and Ireland. Group Learner helps its clients build and maintain a robust culture of food safety across their entire operation which leads to a consistent 100% employee compliance rate. Group Learner allows its clients to demonstrate compliance with relevant legislation, customer codes of practice and third party standards, such as the BRC Global Standards. It is fully endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), the global leader in food safety accreditation.
Food Safety Solutions offers specialised food industry services such as food safety auditing, training and consultancy, including developing and implementing HACCP plans and BRC customised audit solutions. Food Safety Solutions works with many of the leading food manufacturers and retailers helping them develop food safety management plans with an emphasis on ensuring that systems not only control the necessary hazards, but are easy for management and staff to follow.
The combined service offering of Group Learner and Food Safety Solutions offers a complete one stop solution for all food industry compliance requirements. For further information on Group Learner and Food Safety Solutions, visit the companies’ respective websites at www.grouplearner.com and www.foodsafetysolutions.ie.
Q & A with…
Liam Smith, sales director, SCA Hygiene Products
Why has the Lotus Professional brand now changed to Tork?
Lotus Professional has been a household name in Ireland for many years. The highly trusted brand has long been synonymous with quality, care and innovation. After Tork manufacturer SCA acquired the Lotus Professional brand of washroom, hospitality, healthcare and industrial products in Europe in 2012, Lotus products have been carefully rebranded and absorbed into the Tork family to provide the away-from-home market with an unrivalled range of washroom, cleaning and tabletop products.
What are your plans and investment for the future?
The decision by SCA to adopt a single brand strategy with the Tork brand means that Tork is now a $1billion global brand and the combination of the two brands means that Tork is the clear market leader in Ireland.
The strapline on our new packaging is: ‘All that you love about Lotus Professional now lives on in Tork’ and that is very much the case. As a company with innovation and sustainability at our core, we are always looking at bringing the very best products to market to make products that our customers want to use. We want our products to always help make our customers’ lives easier, whether that is through helping them tackle hard cleaning jobs with our wiping and cleaning range, fully equip a washroom for all their hygiene needs with our award-winning range of washroom systems, or take advantage of our extensive offer of hospitality products from dispenser napkins to tableware.
What sets the Tork brand apart from the other major away-from-home brands?
It is increasingly important for SCA to be seen as experts in our category, so by harmonising two great brands into one product assortment, we can meet the needs of many different segments in the market.
Following the acquisition, the Tork brand now offers the greatest range and choice of tissue and hygiene products across many sectors, a product assortment that is truly unrivalled.
Not only can we fully equip all kinds of washrooms, from the small office washroom that requires a touch of class or the large retail shopping centre where footfall is high, we have solutions available to suit everywhere, but our range also includes wiping and cleaning products for all types of industry. Helping to set us apart even further is that fact that we have an extensive tabletop range for all hospitality and catering customers. No other company on the market can currently offer the full basket of goods that we have.
Furthermore, customers in Ireland now receive greater support than ever before. We have moved to new offices on the northside of Dublin and enhanced our dedicated Tork sales and customer services teams to manage all our customer requirements. This ensures we can respond to our customer needs in Ireland quickly to support our market leading position.
We have seen a move towards sustainability in terms of paper products available in the market, how important is sustainability to your business?
For SCA, sustainability is one of the core pillars of our business. Along with innovation and hygiene, sustainability always has and always will be an integral part of who we are.
We deliver sustainable solutions with added value for our customers based on safe, resource-efficient and environmentally sound sourcing, production and development. Work is ongoing to ensure we combat climate change and minimise our impact on the environment through a combination of new innovations and technologies, efficiency gains, consumer initiatives and carbon sequestering in our forests. This helps to build our position as one of the most trusted companies in the world, delivering sustainable growth and value for our stakeholders.
Related Articles
Hand sanitiser sales skyrocket →
Fans 0
Followers