Hillbrush, the UK’s largest manufacturer of brushware and hygienic cleaning tools for the food industry, claims it has seen significant interest in anti-microbial cleaning tools as manufacturers seek to minimise cross contamination during the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift towards the use of ‘shadowboards, where cleaning tools are colour coded and organised according to type and application.

“Throughout the food supply chain there are significant risks of cross-contamination, no more so than within the factory environment where raw materials and ingredients come into contact with surfaces throughout production, David Hagelthorn, Head of Marketing at Hillbrush explains. “The COVID-19 pandemic means that cleaning regimes in the food industry now need to be even more rigorous, not only to minimise the risk of cross contamination from pathogenic bacteria, such as Campylobacter, E. coli, Legionella, Listeria and Salmonella, but from Coronavirus transmission between co-workers too. 

Hillbrush saw a significant increase at the start of lockdown in sales of its specialist antimicrobial cleaning tools as manufacturers were keen to minimise cross contamination.  This plateaued during the height of the pandemic and in recent months, the shift has moved to increased interest in ‘shadowboards’ where cleaning tools are organised according to type and colour coding. The current ‘lockdown’ is likely to see further demand for anti-microbial products. Cleaning has become front of mind, now more than ever before.

“While most food manufacturing businesses have been fully operational during the pandemic, adapting to the ‘new normal’ means significant investment in cleaning time and resources. The reality is that cleaning costs money; it does not add value to the product and often has hidden financial impacts such as the costs of water, heating, chemicals, corrosion, monitoring and validation of cleaning. We have found that food operators are looking for simple, practical solutions that will make cleaning regimes much simpler to implement and manage and this is reflected in the type of cleaning hardware they are purchasing too”, David explains.

Anti-microbial cleaning tools are specifically designed to prevent the growth and reduce the risk of bacterial cross-contamination, minimise foreign body contamination and support HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) and 5S (workplace organisation) best practice with colour-coded segregation. While antimicrobial cleaning tools should not replace a regular cleaning regime, they will enhance it, adding the additional level of protection that everyone is seeking in the post COVID landscape.

Although a standard within the food industry for some years, there are now specific references included in the BRC Retail Standard and UK Retailer Codes of Practice on using colour-coded cleaning tools to reduce the risk of cross-contamination in a factory environment. Hillbrush has seen increased interest in the use of shadowboards where all coloured cleaning tools are grouped together making them easy to select (and also easy to see when they are not in their correct place). Assigning specific coloured cleaning tools to areas to control allergen usage, high-risk and low-risk factory zones, floor cleaning and food contact equipment is looked upon favourably by customers, auditors and inspectors. They demonstrate that the manufacturer takes hygiene and cleaning seriously and organises procedures effectively in their business.

For more information, please click the company name link below: