Over the course of three days in March, London hosted the International Salon Culinaire competition which has continued to be regarded as one of the world’s top competitions for chefs for over a century. The competitions have been a platform for chefs of all levels from the talented young chefs training at college, to those who are well established and firmly on their culinary career journey. Salon Culinaire offers the industry a platform to highlight the fantastic and exciting gastronomic skills that the hospitality industry has to offer. This year Cleenol was delighted to be a primary sponsor for the event and to be able to showcase our Evolution X2 range that provides peace of mind in terms of cleaning and hygiene performance, whilst occupying very little space in the kitchen environment and controlling costs due to its accurate dilution control system that dilutes at point of application. To find out more about Evolution X2, contact us sales@cleenol.co.uk

New from Cleenol, our latest hand wash product. A quality, white, unfragranced antibacterial hand wash, developed for frequent use. Its mild yet effective formula brings peace of mind in terms of positive hand hygiene. In its development Cleenol has ensured that it meets the stringent hand hygiene needs of everyday use, but especially so for the care sector. Complies with the following British EN standards: EN1499:2013,EN1276:2019,EN1650:2019 (Yeast),EN13624:2021 (Yeast) – specifically aimed at the Care sectorEN13727 – especially developed to disinfect even in dirty conditions. 3 formats 6x500ml SEN-WABHW-6X500; 2x5L SEN-WABHW-2X5 and 3x800ml pouch SEN-WABHW-3X800

This month, we are featuring in the editor's choice of the Family Business United news features. Family Business United (‘FBU’) is an unparalleled rallying point and voice for the global family business community and an invaluable source of insight into the sector. FBU is a resource for all, family businesses of all sizes and sectors, and their advisers, helping to raise the profile of the family business sector. Sharing news and best practice is at the core of what we are all about, as well as undertaking research projects, hosting twitter chats and webinars and putting on innovative events too. Cleenol is delighted to be a part of this dynamic organisation and is proud to be featured as an editor's pick.

Over 3 days in March, Cleenol sponsored the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering show, with the International Salon Culinaire competition running as an integral part. Apart from being a huge event for the hospitality industry, given that it also combined the Pub Show 2023 and IFE and IFE Manufacturing, the event gave us a great opportunity to showcase the compact and highly efficient Evolution X2 product - as demonstrated by the professional chefs in the Live and Skills Theatres. To find out more about X2, contact us directly or complete the Contact Us form on this website.

Today March 18th is Global Recycling Day. Recycling has been a watch word for the environment for many years and it does indeed allow for all types of energy saving but alone, it does not offer the silver bullet for waste control. During any recycling process, resources are reused, energy is consumed, and a degree of pollution follows. This is why the often-quoted 3R's of going green - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – appear in this specific order. This is where pre cycling comes in, under the “Reduce” phase. Precycling is about reducing waste by avoiding items that will generate it, or selecting certain items that will generate less, or acquiring items that can be reused for something else but attention to precycling can also bring significant savings early on in a manufacturing process. Manufacturing cleaning products requires the use of many resources, both renewable and non-renewable. The performance of a cleaning product has a direct correlation with the resources used: if a low performance cleaning product is used, more of it will be needed to deliver the same level of cleanliness as perhaps a more effective or more expensively formulated product will. If a concentrated cleaning product is used, there will be a consequential reduction in environmental impact thanks to there being less plastic and less energy needed during its production, when compared to a traditional product. These are both examples of pre cycling. Pre-cycling is the process of reducing waste by attempting to avoid producing items which will generate waste. It is the concept of "using less" to "generate less''. Such an approach has a stronger positive environmental impact than recycling. Indeed, pre-cycling helps reduce the need for recycling; although recycling is a positive and necessary process, as we saw above, it still requires energy and resource consumption. Developing formulations is not just about mixing ingredients that will provide a functional product, it is mainly about finding the way to generate the best synergistic action between ingredients. For example, the addition of some ingredients may lower the cleaning performance of the formulation. For example, selecting a specific anti bactericidal raw material that is also a surfactant allows the use of just one raw material instead of two. Cleenol has for over 70 years developed effective formulations that require long development cycles and testing of hundreds of prototypes to ensure that we deliver the best cleaning solution at the least cost to the environment. Cleenol has adapted the well documented engineering inspired Taguchi process for its cleaning products.  With this approach, Cleenol has developed extremely effective cleaning formulations that use the lowest possible amount of active ingredient - reducing resource use. This reduction in resource material usage is a highly effective way to reduce our environmental footprint and has been part of our DNA for decades. It forms an integral part of our vision for a cleaner, safer world.

This year Cleenol is delighted to be sponsoring the The Hotel, Restaurant & Catering Show, also at London Excel and will be supplying the cleaning and hygiene products for the show and the live theatres at the International Salon Culinaire 2023. The show is being held in association with the Pub Show and the IFE Show across a number of halls - with plenty of food and drink to sample, it makes for a great day out and headline and you can always stop by and say hello to us on stand - and share your thoughts on how well X2 performs in the confined spaces, and hectic environment of the live theatre kitchens. Click here to register for your free ticket

Our 75th Birthday We don't look it we know! This year represents Cleenol's 75th birthday and as a company we are engaging on what we have called 75x75x75. The Company has committed to raising £75,000 from May 23 by involving at least 75 people in 75 events. The money will then be shared between 3 good causes - Katharine House Hospice here in Banbury that we have supported for over 30 years; Tribox - an organisation that uses sport to help mange mental illness and a third cause that will be chosen by the Cleenol employees. We'll be running events and inviting customers to actively participate and to sponsor too so be prepared to get your running shoes on! Get in touch if you want to take part in some friendly inter company footie or cricket or any other fun nonsense events!

See the Team, Take the Cleenol Challenge We'll be showing off the Evolution X2 range as well as our other super concentrates and our edencleen range for those after an alternative sustainable solution. We are confident that we'll have a solution for challenge you bring us! And for those placing orders on the days of the show there'll be something special in store. See us at stand D20 at London Excel and click here to register

World Toilet Day is on 19th November. Held on the same date each year, and organised by UN Water, it has been a globally observed event since 2013. The purpose of World Toilet Day is to ‘celebrate toilets’ but also to raise awareness of the billions of people who don’t have access to proper sanitation. The United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 6.2 (SDG 6.2) aims to ensure safe toilets for everyone by 2030, yet today around 3.6 billion people still live with poor quality toilets. This not only poses a threat to health and contributes to the spread of disease, it also pollutes the environment, spreading human waste to our rivers, lakes and soil, and our groundwater. The title of this year’s World Toilet Day is ‘Making the Invisible Visible’ with a focus on the impact of poor sanitation on groundwater. Groundwater accounts for approximately 99% of freshwater on our planet and is vital to human survival. It supports our supplies of drinking water, together with sanitation systems, agriculture, industry and our ecosystems. The World Health Organization reports that at least two billion people drink from water sources contaminated with faeces and that every day more than 800 children under five years of age die from diarrhoea-related illness linked to unsafe drinking water. UN Water is therefore calling on us all to join the conversation and do more to achieve SDG 6.2 and prevent the global sanitation crisis we are currently facing. Keeping sanitation clean and kind to the environment The quality and accessibility of sanitation systems is important but so too is having access to good hygiene and cleanliness practices. Cleaning and hygiene products are crucial to ensure sanitation spaces are kept clean and safe, such as handwashes  and sanitisers to support good personal hygiene. Yet, as we increase our use of these products, we also risk harming the environment with chemicals and toxins. That’s why we developed our edencleen range, which includes high-performing solutions for around 80% of all cleaning needs, limiting any harmful impact on the environment. Our edencleen range is designed for sustainable hygiene the right way and includes toilet cleaner gel, washroom cleaner, drain maintainer, floor cleaner and urinal cleaner. Find out more about our range of edencleen products. Contact our team today, sales@cleenol.co.uk.

How to Read a Chemical Label Labels are the main way of communicating the hazards or risks posed by a substance or mixture. The labels, along with Safety Data Sheets (SDS), enable users to safely use and store these products for everyday use. In times where every penny counts, we might often get sold a story about a product that seems too good to be true. There are certain elements that are required on all labels as set out by the ‘Retained CLP Regulations (EU) No. 1272/2008 as amended for Great Britain’, now known as GB CLP (https://www.hse.gov.uk/chemical-classification/legal/clp-regulation.htm). To find out more about what to look out for when looking at a chemical label and to ensure that you don't fall fowl of unscrupulous manufacturers or merchants, follow the link here to see the full article.

Norovirus causes diarrhoea and vomiting and is one of the most common stomach bugs in the UK. It's also called the 'winter vomiting bug' because it's more common in winter, although you can catch it at any time of the year. Norovirus can be very unpleasant but usually clears up by itself in a few days. Symptoms of norovirus: ▪ suddenly feeling sick ▪ projectile vomiting ▪ watery diarrhoea Some people also have a slight fever, headaches, painful stomach cramps and aching limbs. How is norovirus spread? Norovirus spreads very easily in public places such as hospitals, nursing homes and schools. You can catch it if small particles of vomit or stools (poo) from an infected person get into your mouth through: ▪ close contact with someone with norovirus who may breathe out small particles of the virus that you then inhale.▪ touching contaminated surfaces or objects, as the virus can survive outside the body for several days.▪ eating contaminated food, which can happen if an infected person doesn't wash their hands before preparing or handling food. Preventing norovirus It's not always possible to avoid getting norovirus but, following the advice below can help stop the virus spreading. You should: ▪ stay off work or school until at least 48 hours after the norovirus symptoms have stopped. ▪ avoid visiting anyone in hospital during this time. ▪ wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water particularly after using the toilet and before preparing or handling food. ▪ be aware alcohol-based hand gels don't kill the virus. Maintain basic hygiene and cleaning to help stop the spread of norovirus by: ▪ disinfecting any surfaces or objects that could be contaminated, using a 0.1% bleach-based household cleaning solution (1000 ppm available chlorine). ▪ washing any items of clothing or bedding that could have become contaminated separately on a hot wash (60 °C) to ensure the virus is killed. ▪ not sharing towels and flannels. ▪ flushing any poo or vomit in the toilet and cleaning the surrounding area with a bleach-based household cleaner. ▪ avoiding eating raw, unwashed food. ▪ only eating oysters from a reliable source as they can carry norovirus. Cleenol's Sanitizing Tablets (062534/6 – 6 x 180 tabs) and High Power Sanitizing Tablets (0625CHL/6 – 6 x 200 tabs) provide a simple, cost-effective solution for disinfection of areas where people affected with norovirus have been. Including cleaning of touch points and areas that may have been contaminated with vomit or other body matter. Both the Sanitizing Tabs and High Power Sanitizing Tablets are based on a dry chlorine donor – Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC or Troclosene Sodium). This results in a safer, highly convenient and more accurate alternative to traditional liquid hypochlorite bleach. These tablets dissolve quickly with an effervescent action, giving a ready to use chlorine-based solution in under 5 minutes. The main differences between these two products are the size of the tablet and the amount of active ingredient contained within the product: ▪ Sanitizing Tablets = 1.1g (0.5g NaDCC) ▪ High Power Sanitizing Tablets = 3.25g (1.7g NaDCC) For disinfecting areas against Norovirus, a 0.1% solution of bleach is recommended. This means that there are 1000 parts per million (ppm) available chlorine molecules in the solution. Traditional bleach-based cleaners can be hard to accurately dilute to the correct concentration, as the dilution rates will vary depending on the strength of the initial product. However, for High Power Sanitizing Tablets it is very simple to dose to 1000 ppm: Dose Rate for 1000 ppm = 1 High Power Sanitizing Tablet per Litre of clean water Below are a few examples of dose rates to give a concentration of 1000 ppm: Sanitizing Tablets, are similarly easy to dose to 1000 ppm, simply requiring a large dose rate for an equivalent volume: For additional dose rates and alternative uses, please see the Product Use Guides for each product.

Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene - Global Handwashing Day 15th October Global Handwashing Day is on the 15th October. Organised by the Global Handwashing Partnership, the purpose of Global Handwashing Day is to raise awareness about the importance of handwashing to prevent the spread of disease and ultimately save lives. It’s also “an opportunity to design, test, and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands at critical times”. The theme of this year’s Global Handwashing Day is “Unite for Universal Handwashing”. According to the WHO and UNICEF, we need to quadruple the rates of progress in hand hygiene, to be able to achieve hygiene efforts set out in the Sustainable Development Goals. So, we can do more if we unite and do things together. Why handwashing is so important Good hand hygiene plays a key role in reducing the spread of a range of diseases including diarrheal, respiratory and outbreak-related pathogens such as cholera, Ebola, SARS, hepatitis E and of course COVID-19. But its importance extends beyond simply preventing disease outbreaks alone. By reducing the spread of infectious diseases, we also reduce school and work absenteeism and help to protect front-line workers. Effective hand hygiene Thorough handwashing with soap and water is the most effective way to ensure good hand hygiene, but the use of hand santisers is a helpful alternative where access to water is not possible. We saw from the COVID-19 pandemic how a concerted effort for thorough handwashing could help prevent the spread of the virus, but also the availability of hand santisers in many places where we might not have seen them pre-pandemic. And while the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic may be over, we may yet see a resurgence in cases and many other diseases are also here to stay, so it is important to make sure that good hand hygiene remains a priority. While there are everyday occasions when you should wash your hands such as before preparing food and eating, tending to a wound, after handling raw food, using the toilet or touching animals, we learned from the pandemic that more frequent handwashing or sanitising is important to prevent the transmission of viruses. But as we do, we also need to be careful not to overuse chemicals that may be harmful or cause skin irritation. Hand hygiene products that are kind on skin At Cleenol, we understand the importance of practicing good hygiene with frequent handwashing, which is why we have created a range of products that can be used regularly without harming or irritating the skin. Our Senses hand wash is designed for frequent use and is available in three scents – Rose Lily, Peach, and Green Apple. Or if you are looking for a more luxurious range, try our Ast & Greaves products including our carefully balanced, lightly perfumed hand washes, which are available in Jasmine & Apple Blossom and Black Pepper & Ginseng. We also provide a range of hand sanitisers including alcohol and non-alcohol sanitising gels and sprays. Our 70% Alcohol Sanitising Gel or Spray, kills 99.99% of viruses and 99.999% of bacteria but if you’re looking for a hand sanitiser designed for frequent use that is kind on the hands, then try our Senses Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitiser. It doesn’t dry as fast as an alcohol-based sanitiser, meaning you need to rub your hands together for longer, which provides better coverage and a more durable resistance on your hands. But if you are unsure as to which hand sanitiser is most effective to suit your needs then have a read of one of our previous posts, which tells you all you need to know. Find out more about our range of hand hygiene products. Contact our team today: sales@cleenol.co.uk.