TRSA

to document best practices (implement quality assurance functions), rather than mandating an excess of prescriptive tactics. Germany led the way with additional requirements for testing textile samples and solid surfaces in laundry for effectiveness of laundry processing in reducing all microbiological content and removing harmful bacteria. TRSA adopted these principles in 2011 in the introduction of its new Hygienically Clean certification. Today, more than 150 North American healthcare laundries have earned the Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification. Another nearly 100 have been certified Hygienically Clean Food Safety for service to food manufacturing and processing industries. This designation has reinforced such facilities’ commitment to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Consistent with Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) methodology, certification inspectors examine a uniform service facility’s operational flow and verify the management team has ensured that best practices prevent contamination at each step. Microbiological testing of textile samples and solid surfaces is also required. More recently, TRSA introduced Hygienically Clean Hospitality standards for laundries serving hotels and Hygienically Clean Food Service for those serving restaurants. While these businesses perceive even less of a risk from textiles than healthcare or food processing, their high conscientiousness regarding sanitation suggests they won’t be far behind in calling for maximum risk minimization in all cleaning processes.