Our first Holiday season in full swing gives us the perfect opportunity to show how James Supply does promotions. We know everyone likes to save a few bucks, but nothing feels better than…GIVING BACK. Our team got together with a few local organizations that make a big impact and you can help us make sure they have the disinfecting supplies they need for this Family Friendly Holiday!

We made it pretty simple, for every five (5) Case Packs of Wexford Labs products we sell until January 31st, we will donate a (1) Case Pack of CleanCide 80-Count Disinfecting Wipes to one of our partner Organizations.

Better yet if there are five (5) Case Packs purchased on a SINGLE Order, we will give you the option of donating to a local organization in your community!

• Pop.Earth – Charity for Autism
• Social Behavioral Learning Solutions – Supporting the Educational Journey
• MOZAIC – A part of ARC the nations largest provider of services to the special needs community.

Check out the details of James Supply’s “Case Pack Give Back” Promotion > Here

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it’s winners for the 2021 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award. Among which you will find Wexford Labs, winning for the second time and being recognized as a leader in safer disinfecting products.

That means if you are looking for EFFECTIVE disinfectants that offer a more human and environment friendly formula, look no further. Your search for the best disinfecting fit within Hospitality and Foodservice is Wexford Labs. Along with their EPA List N and EPA Designed for Environment Certification, their CleanCide and Thymo-Cide RTU are NSF certified, solidifying their position as the perfect HoReCa one-step cleaning solution.

The time is now for more efficient and safer disinfecting products in Hospitality and Foodservice.

Read the Press Release from the EPA here.

Skip straight to Wexford Labs on the list here.

View Wexford Labs products here.

With 45 years in safer cleaning formulation and manufacturing, Wexford Labs understands how important education is at all levels of facility management. This Wexford Labs E-Book is an introduction into how a property can go beyond clean, and offer a safer environment for children, seniors, higher-risk patrons, and their general guest population.

Many cleaning products today contain higher toxicity and possibly harmful ingredients, that are not needed to efficiently disinfect surfaces. Stemming from Wexford Labs’ deep history in the Healthcare & Education industry, they are focused on high-power disinfecting products with the lowest levels of toxicity to humans and the environment.

The Path to Smarter, Safer Disinfection is part of a continuous effort in education on not only better cleaning practices, but making more informed decisions on the disinfectants in your environment. The myths that safer cleaning products are more expensive, less powerful, or in some way “come up short” compared to major market presence brands, are just that.

It looks like Apple is getting smarter with their product care directions, and trying to make sure their products last a bit longer. In a recent Support Documentation update Apple warns against using hydrogen peroxide or bleach based disinfectants on their products.  You also should NOT submerge your Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, display or peripheral…but we hope that is more obvious. You can find hydrogen peroxide in many popular products including Lysol.

Hydrogen peroxide can create stress cracks and other issues in hard and soft surfaces.

Hydrogen peroxide is a better alternative to “Quat” based disinfectants, but still presents issues in both hard and soft surfaces prevalent in many environments. Hydrogen peroxide can create issues in hard surfaces such as acrylic, causing stress cracks after some rigorous 24 hour testing compared to citrus-acid based wipes. You can see effects to soft materials where there can be some degradation and swelling under testing as well.

What does this mean in Hospitality and Foodservice?

When it comes to FF&E and OS&E you should take into consideration what your teams Housekeeping teams are using. Cleaning and disinfecting products should not cut down the lifespan of the equipment in your environment, or be possibly be harmful to your staff and patrons. In Hotel Gyms wipes were used heavily even pre-pandemic and replacement costs on hard and soft surfaces in this environment can be very high. Materials like acrylic are used through many interior designs within the Lobby and Guest Rooms, from area dividers to room number signage.  You start thinking about performance fabrics used in general areas or foodservice seating and the long term costs could get interesting.

If you work with a 90 minute turnover rate time across a restaurant open say 8 hours, that is about 11 parties seated. We would like to imagine, at the moment especially, that these seats are being cleaned after each party. Now depending on how corrosive to the material the cleaner may be, its no wonder there seems to be a shortage of unworn seats at lots of diners.

Save your property on “ghost costs” and make the right supply chain decisions.

Using the wrong products can create hidden maintenance costs, and in a business environment where every dollar counts, it matters. Making sure decision makers in Housekeeping and Procurement are aware of the environment and and health costs associated with common disinfectants should always be a priority.

Food safety protocols are perhaps some of the most stringent safety regulations among broader business requirements. Making sure what we eat is safe has kept our country healthier than most, from very early on and kept profitable production lines going. Now Foodservice is faced with an intense new combatant in Covid-19, keeping the industry closed in many areas and in need of help everywhere.

As re-opening or loosening guidelines and precautions starts to spread, Restaurants and Bars will begin to test the cleaning and disinfecting solutions put in place. Among those concerns should be,  “What is in those cleaning products” and at the top (and what is concerning) are “quats”.  Quaternary Ammonium Compounds, basically a line list of harmful chemicals that usually end in “onium chloride” that do a great job on Covid-19, and have their own list of other possible affects they leave behind with their residue.

• Potent skin irritants and can cause rashes and dermatitis.
• Cleaning workers exposed regularly to “quats” have developed occupational asthma.
• Reproductive harm, potentially affecting fertility, and possibly leading to birth defects.
• Widespread use of quats is contributing to the global problem of antimicrobial resistance, leading to the development of “superbugs” that cannot be controlled with antibiotics.

These types of disinfectants don’t really feel like they fit the bill for our essential Foodservice Workers or  their customers. Yet this is what is produced from most of your “big brands” and made available to distributors and resellers. “Quats” tend to keep prices low and are complete with warnings and directions that according to a recent CDC survey, regarding household cleaning practices, a THIRD of responders don’t adhere to. Now we know Foodservice teams are FAR more efficient than any of us at home, but the idea that these guidelines are obviously under-communicated is alarming.

Finding the right choice may be a bit more difficult, but it will be well worth it to your family at work and the families who visit. Products utilizing citric acid, lactic acid,  hydrogen peroxide, or thymol are safer options but should still be used properly according to instructions and warning.

They have the proper, EPA N-Listed, Covid-19 killing power but just like “quats” are subject to efficacy times. Surfaces must be left WET for the stated time frame in order to actually disinfect and even sanitize. This tends to be anywhere from 2-10 minutes, depending on how powerful the ingredients are most times.

Let’s make the right choices not only for our food-contact surfaces, but the entire environment, and offer a safer home to our family and restaurant goers alike.

Want more information on disinfecting in Hospitality & Foodservice? Check out our related article “Are you using the right cleaning products in your Hotel or Resort Lobby?”

Source:

Chemical & Engineering News – Do we know enough about the safety of “quat” disinfectants?

Women’s Voice For Earth – Cleaning with Pesticides? Quit the Quats!

CDC – Knowledge and Practices Regarding Safe Household Cleaning and Disinfection for COVID-19 Prevention — United States, May 2020

UMass Lowell – Disinfectants Can Kill the Coronavirus, but Can Also Harm Health

It is officially April and officially Autism Awareness Month, and in favor of such we think everyone needs a little bit of FLAVOR in their life!

Chef David Buico and the team at Dude’s Gourmet have put together the perfect seasoning in honor of his stepson Dylan with 100% of proceeds going to one of our favorite organizations, Pop.Earth!

Chef Buico made the announcement in a recent post:

“Today is April 1st and the start of Autism Awareness month. Autism is a cause that’s near and dear to my heart and I have been supporting the work of @pop_earth for the last 4 years. During covid I watched as many programs shut down, but @pop_earth and its small team still got out to deliver free meals, care bags and cheer to special needs homes. As a chef, I wanted to find a way to support their efforts and found inspiration in my stepson, Dylan who has autism and loves pizza! Dylan is known to those close to him as Dilly Bear. So together with my friend Tom at @dudesgourmet we created an 100% natural seasoning blend named “Dilly Bear’s Pizza Seasoning.” It’s $8 for an 8oz bottle. It’s good on everything, chicken, pork, meatballs, fish and much more! Tom and I covered the costs so 100% proceeds will go to @pop_earth. Buy a few bottles or even a case for a great cause! Ciao!”

Head on over to Dude’s Gourmet to pick up the seasoning: Here

Chef Buico will also be opening his latest project Mercato Cucina very soon in Huntington, NY, don’t miss out on that. Trust us, we will remind you!