UniFirst Certifies Two More Plants

Posted January 4, 2017 at 7:14 pm

Learn More about Hygienically Clean Food Safety Certification

UniFirst Corp. facilities in Tampa, FL; and Tulsa, OK, recently certified their operations with TRSA’s Hygienically Clean Food Safety program. This move reflects their commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by TRSA inspection. The certifications also demonstrate their ability to produce hygienically clean textile products quantified by ongoing microbial testing.

The certification confirms a laundry’s dedication to compliance and processing garments and other textile products using BMPs as described in its quality-assurance documentation, which serves as a focal point for TRSA inspectors’ evaluation of critical control points that minimize risk.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify that textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for servicing animal processing, dairies, fruit/vegetable, bakeries, grain and other food and beverage industry segments.

UniFirst now has 14 facilities that have certified with TRSA’s Hygienically Clean Food Safety program. That’s more than any other textile services operator. In addition to the Tampa and Tulsa plants noted above, these facilities are located in Stockton and Ontario, CA; Stratford, CT; Albany, GA; Boston, MA; Landover, MD; Charlotte and Kernersville, NC; Lebanon and Nashua, NH; Amarillo, TX; and Richmond, VA.

The TRSA Hygienically Clean Food Safety protocol examines a laundry’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) practices, including its techniques for:

  • Conducting hazard analysis
  • Determining CCPs, monitoring their control, and corrections if required
  • Validating and verifying HACCP system effectiveness
  • Documenting and record-keeping to show ongoing conformance

Inspection and re-inspection 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 that these procedures (as well as pickup, unloading and sorting of soiled items and sorting of clean laundry) are mapped. Additionally, employees’ use of personal protective equipment is documented.

Inspectors also evaluate practices relevant to handling and processing textile products used in food manufacturing/processing establishments for adherence to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) directives.

“More and more, we’re seeing our customers in food-related industries looking for third-party validation that our specialized Product Protection Process and our hygienically clean standards are consistent with HACCP guidelines,” said Adam Soreff, director of marketing and communications at UniFirst, based in Wilmington, MA. “Working with a Hygienically Clean Food Safety certified laundry helps reassure them that their managed uniform program is working in concert with their own food safety protocols to help them ensure food safety for consumers.” Click here or on the link above to learn more.

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