ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Ten Hygienically Clean designations were awarded to textile services facilities in November, reports the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA).
The association says it was a record pace for the 3-year-old program. Initially dedicated to certifying healthcare laundries, Hygienically Clean expanded to set standards for laundry for food processing and food service businesses, which accounted for half the November certifications.
By inspecting laundry plants, Hygienically Clean verifies that laundries’ processes adhere to the program’s best management practices (BMPs), according to TRSA. Through third-party biological testing, the program quantifies laundered product cleanliness for compliance with its standards. BMP and microbial-level requirements vary according to industry served.
One operation, Crown Linen Service, Brockton, Mass., earned both the food safety and food service designations in November. It also renewed its Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification. Other companies receiving certifications during the month were:
- Angelica Textile Services Inc., healthcare: Austin, Texas; Columbia, S.C.; Durham, N.C.; Ooltewah, Tenn.
- Crothall Laundry Services, healthcare: La Mirada, Calif.
- Huebsch Services, food safety: Eau Claire, Wis.
- UniFirst Corp., food safety: Kernersville, N.C.; Richmond, Va.
“Hygienically Clean has become the fastest-growing textile services certification by focusing on processes and outcomes,” says TRSA President and CEO Joseph Ricci.
TRSA says it’s the only laundry certification in North America that does both, modeled after programs found elsewhere in the world, such as those of the European Committee for Standardization and the German-based Certification Association for Professional Textile Services.
TRSA says that in the past two years, 100% of Hygienically Clean plants have renewed their certification, reflecting launderers’ confidence in the designation as meeting customer requirements for clean textile products and an accredited laundry provider.
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