Certificates and window stickers help build consumer confidence, says Scotsman distributor
Hygiene has never been more critical. And if there’s one area of foodservice hygiene that consumers are aware of, it’s ice. Every year the media carries stories about problems with ice hygiene in pubs, fast food outlets or shops. One of the issues is in the cleaning of the ice machines, which is why Hubbard Systems recently launched the Scotsman range of XSafe icemakers into the UK. To back up the launch, Hubbard is offering all XSafe customers a certificate that they can display in their premises and a sticker for their window or door, confirming that the ice is XSafe-protected.
XSafe is a sanitation system that’s certified to destroy all known bacteria and viruses (including coronaviruses) and significantly reduces the growth of yeasts, moulds, mildew and slime within the ice maker. It’s highly effective at keeping the interior hygienically clean, thus it not only enhances food safety (ice is classified as a food) but also reduces staff workload, since they don’t have to clean the machine as often.
“We need to be creating an environment where consumers feel safe when they go to a foodservice site,” says Pete Gray, managing director of Hubbard Systems. “These certificates and stickers contribute to that, by showing that the operator is taking measures to make their site as hygienic and safe as possible.”
Scotsman XSafe is a complete sanitation system which operates 24/7 and requires no day-to-day maintenance. It works silently in the background whenever the ice machine is in normal production mode, providing continuous protection of both the ice which is produced and the ice which is stored within the confines of the storage bin.
XSafe uses the natural disinfectant power of UV light to help keep the interior of the ice machines in peak hygienic condition. Unlike standard UV systems, XSafe first uses the UV light to convert oxygen into ozone, then converts the ozone into activated oxygen, then blows it throughout the interior. This activated oxygen is what attacks a wide spectrum of contaminants, including coronaviruses, germs and bacteria. It does this by destroying the bonds in the molecules of the contaminating material, making them harmless.
“We believe XSafe is a major contribution to ice hygiene and food safety,” says Gray.