October 2019

Equine disease outbreaks can cause huge disruption to stables, sporting events (in normal circumstances) and breeding programs – and ultimately have a damaging impact on your overall yard investment. Horse flu, Strangles and Ringworm are all particularly harmful, which makes good laundry protocols as vital as your biosecurity and vaccination measures.

At JLA, we’ve been setting the standards in human infection control for the past two decades with a range of ozone disinfection solutions – which means we can offer unrivalled expertise and technology when it comes to equine health too. Here, our in-house chemists offer an overview of how ozone washing can level-up overall protection against some of the biggest threats to equine health.

Equine Influenza

Horse Flu is one of the most common infectious diseases of the respiratory tract of horses [1]. Influenza is an airborne virus and can spread quickly and easily through a yard – under favourable weather conditions it can even spread up to 5km. It can be transmitted by direct horse-to-horse contact and also via people, tack, feed and equipment [2].

In tests carried out with JLA’s OTEX ozone laundry disinfection system, results showed that no viral particles of the type associated with Equine Flu survived the wash.

Strangles

Strangles is one of the most common diseases diagnosed in horses worldwide. It is a highly contagious and debilitating disease that can affect any horse, on any yard, at any time. Strangles bacteria often infect the lymph nodes around the jaw, causing them to become swollen. In severe cases they can become so swollen that horses struggle to breathe properly, hence the name ‘Strangles’ [4]. It can be easily spread directly through horse to horse contact and indirectly through contaminated equipment, handler clothing and boots etc. Whilst strangles is not spread through the air (airborne), the bacteria can spread when a horse with strangles coughs or snorts [5].

JLA’s OTEX laundry system is proven to remove 99.999% of harmful bacteria and while specific tests have not been conducted in relation to Strangles, evidence highlights the benefits of using an ozone laundry disinfection system for minimising the risk of this damaging disease.

Ringworm

Ringworm, otherwise known as dermatophytosis, is a fungal skin infection caused by a dermatophyte fungus. The fungus infects dead tissue in the superficial layers of the skin, spreading quickly. The spores of the fungus eat away at the hair, causing the slowly widening bald patches that are typical of the skin disease [6]. In horses, Trichophyton equinum (T. equinum) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (T. mentagrophytes), are the primary causes of ringworm. These fungi can spread by contact with infected individuals and contaminated objects such as stalls or grooming tools.

It was found in a study conducted in 2012, that ozone was effective in killing >99% of viable fungi present in various experimental systems [7].

A further key factor in supporting a stables’ disinfection practices is the ability of ozone to perform at low temperatures. Manufacturers’ wash instructions for fabrics such as horse rugs commonly state that items should be laundered at 40 degrees or lower – as this is not sufficient to provide any form of thermal disinfection, owners and riders are often caught in a catch 22 situation whereby they sacrifice either hygiene or wash quality and performance.

By adding OTEX to a wash cycle, stable owners can be confident laundry is being disinfected appropriately at the optimum temperatures for the fabrics whilst maintaining the condition of these items.

In summary, vaccination, strict hygiene measures and effective laundering of equine blankets, numnahs and other garments are critical to controlling and managing potential equine disease outbreaks. To discuss the benefits and science of JLA’s OTEX ozone laundry disinfection solution, arrange a free, no-obligation consultation today.OTEX effective disinfection performance has obvious benefits in providing reassurance to all stables users that all laundry is being conducted to the highest standards of hygiene.

References

1.    https://aaep.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines/risk-based-vaccination-guidelines/equine-influenza
2.    https://www.msd-animal-health-hub.co.uk/Healthy-Horses/Health/EquineInfluenza
3.    https://aaep.org/sites/default/files/Guidelines/Streptococcus%20equi%20var.pdf
4.    https://www.msd-animal-health-hub.co.uk/Healthy-Horses/Health/AboutStrangles
5.    https://www.bhs.org.uk/advice-and-information/horse-health-and-sickness/strangles
6.    https://towcester-vets.co.uk/2017/02/all-you-need-to-know-about-ringworm/
7.    https://mycology.adelaide.edu.au/descriptions/dermatophytes/trichophyton/

RRP reports can be accessed here.

Free download

Download our Equine Health Talking Point

This overview looks at how ozone laundry disinfection can help you manage outbreaks of some of the most harmful equine disease – Horse Flu, Strangles and Ringworm.

Download your printable PDF today and contact us for any support you need in your yard or stables laundry.

What Is A Convection Oven?

A commercial convection oven – sometimes called a fan-assisted oven – cooks food by circulating hot air evenly around the heating chamber. With constant temperature distribution over your meat, potatoes, pies or other bakes (typically 25% lower than most other types of oven need to reach), you’ll benefit from faster cooking times and consistently high quality when it comes to serving a large volume of dishes.

Convection ovens are great for certain types of restaurant serving requirements – like a carvery – as well as businesses like care homes where you need to cook similar foods quickly at the same time.

The advantages of a convection oven

The benefits of a convection oven at-a-glance…

- Cook faster

- Cook more evenly

- Cook with less energy

When to use a convection oven

Best for: roasting, baking pies and pastries, toasting and even dehydrating.

Convection ovens are ideal for roasting. Meats and vegetables cook faster, more evenly, and the drier environment will give you crispy skin, a brown ‘finish’ and caramelized edges to make your dishes look as good as they’ll taste.

Top tip: Only use certain types of dishes (with low sides) and don’t overfill the oven.

When not to use a convection oven

Not-so-good for cakes, some types of breads, soufflés.

If you try to bake cakes in a convection oven, they will be raw in the middle and cooked on the outside – so other types of oven would be better for businesses like care homes that cook lots of cakes and sponges (because baking requires moisture retention which isn’t a feature of fan-assisted cookers). Convection ovens can also change textures, so things like quick breads are also a no-go.

Enjoy a delicious helping of consistency

In conventional ovens, the heat will rise to the top of the cavity, which can lead to burning (and often undercooking the middle or the base) of foods like puddings and pastries. With even fan-assisted baking, there’ll be no more burnt biscuits on the top shelf while the bottom shelf batch stays soft and dough-y.

How does a convection oven work?

A convection oven cooks by pushing dry heat all around the chamber, over the top of the food – just like a fan oven you might use at home. An exhaust system vents the hot air out as new air is circulated in, maintaining a constant flow of air. The combination of both radiant heat and heated air moving across the food means your ingredients cook faster, more consistently and at a lower temperature, saving you time, energy and money.

Chop your energy bills by up to 20% per month*

Cooking more food in a shorter time– around 25% faster than traditional ovens – will help reduce your business’s gas or electricity usage. Thanks to their optimum airflow, convection ovens require less heat than you might need in a different type of cooker too, which makes them an extremely efficient choice for the planet as well as your bottom line.

*Source: Study by the US Department of Energy – comparison with a standard oven

Slice waiting times for residents, guests and customers

Commercial convection ovens are, by their nature, much more powerful than their domestic ‘home kitchen’ cousins – designed to cook faster and help you send more meals through your pass to maximise revenue, without compromising on quality. With shorter waiting times, this type of oven has a direct impact on customer satisfaction – as well as those all-important reviews if you’re running a hotel or restaurant kitchen.

Best for browning: because hot air passes over the top of your food, it turns roasts and bakes a toasty brown in less time than different types of oven might.

Don’t shell out for shrinkage

With shorter cooking times, meats have less chance to shrink and dry-out, so you won’t have to ‘over-slice’ – and eat into your margins – in order to give your customers the portion they pay for or keep your residents happy.

Conventional ovens are prone to uneven cooking, because the hot air inside doesn’t move around and sits at the top of the chamber – burning some food while leaving other items undercooked.

At JLA you’ll find a range of ovens that could help you meet daily challenges in a commercial kitchen. Browse our appliances here, or get in touch below to ask our experts for advice.

Olivia Nolan
Care sector expert

With lots of laundry guidelines for care homes to consider and meet, it can be hard to know where to start if you’re building or refurbishing your washing facilities. Here we provide a quick guide to the things you’ll need to do to stay compliant – with a FREE infographic at the end of this article to help you plan best practice procedures in sorting, segregating, moving, washing and storing linen.

Sorting & segregation

Place dirty linen in the right bag
Wear plastic aprons and suitable gloves
Check all linen for sharp objects and other items
Always decontaminate hands after sorting

Key HTM 01-04 Laundry Guidelines For Care Homes

Disinfection must be achieved in every wash cycle. There are two accepted methods – thermal or chemical disinfection.

The Department of Health’s Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 01-04 provides guidelines for the disinfection of linens in care homes. Download a copy of the HTM 01-04 regulations here.

Transportation & washing

Move linen and clothing to a designated ‘dirty’ route straight away
Use commercial laundry equipment to ensure performance and compliance
Run heavily soiled laundry through a sluice cycle and pre-wash
Wash in an appropriate cycle according to fabric type and soiling
Was heat sensitive items at the right temperature to avoid damage
Always follow decontamination guidelines with thermal, chemical or ozone disinfection

Discover OTEX – Our unique ozone laundry disinfection system_x000D_

Unique to JLA: OTEX ozone disinfection provides a verifiable way to meet HTM 01-04 by harnessing the natural power of ozone O3, to kill bacteria, molds, yeasts and viruses and eliminate the risk of cross-infection in laundry. Learn more about our ozone washer system here.

Contact us to discuss to learn more about our OTEX ozone laundry disinfection.

Drying & finishing

Use safety-focused commercial dryers to reduce risks in your home
Dry linen and clothes immediately after washing
Remove items from dryer as soon as they are dry
Place ironed/finished items into storage trolleys immediately
Transport clean linen back to original location via a dedicated ‘clean’ route
Store finished laundry on plastic or metal shelving
Use a ‘first in, first out’ principle to avoid over-storing items

If you need help to meet the laundry guidelines for care homes, get in touch today. Simply ask our care team for help with layouts, workflows and maintenance and we’ll get back to you quickly to discuss your options.

What is essential for the safe handling of linen laundry?

As the quick guide above outlines, it’s vital that your care home laundry follows best practice in the sorting, segregation, transportation, storage, washing, finishing and drying of linen. Fill in the quick form below to download our free infographic and start planning a better way of working in your laundry…

Exclusive Report

FREE care home laundry guide

Download your free guide today and keep your care home compliant.

Are your gas appliances, pipework, extractor systems and interlock system compliant?

Gas safety is a critical part of any commercial operation, particularly in a canteen or kitchen, and Gas units and appliances must – by law – be installed, fitted, operated and repaired by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and CP42 Gas Safety Certified. Take a look at our top commercial kitchen gas safety to help keep your business compliant…

Don’t use domestic kitchen equipment

Domestic kitchen appliances won’t be able to cope with the demand that a commercial restaurant, café or catering establishment faces – this means that they’ll be susceptible to frequent (and expensive) breakdowns, which could in turn affect their ability to operate safely.

This doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear if you only use commercial catering equipment – you’ll still need an annual commercial kitchen Gas Safety check – but by ditching the domestic appliances, you’ll have the right tools for the job. You should also ensure that your equipment has a CE marking plate, which proves that it meets UK and European safety directives.

Make sure your equipment has an isolation valve

An emergency isolation valve will cut the flow of gas to your equipment if something goes wrong, and you and your employees should be trained in how to use it. Any equipment that uses LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) must have a flame failure device (FFD) fitted as well. If the FFD does not detect a flame in your equipment, it will not allow gas to be released – which can help to prevent deadly gas leaks.

Keep your commercial kitchen clean and well-ventilated

Cooking in a commercial kitchen can generate quite a lot of grease, oils and fats, all of which can build up on surfaces, oven hobs, fryers and other pieces of equipment – including ventilation units. By keeping your kitchen clean and scheduling deep cleans of your ventilation units and ductwork, you can minimise the risk of your gas-burning equipment sparking a fire.

Install a commercial carbon monoxide detector

Fires and explosions aren’t the only risks associated with gas-burning catering equipment; your kitchen could also be generating dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, an odourless, colourless gas that can quickly cause serious illness or even death. A commercial carbon monoxide detector will have better detection capabilities than a domestic model, and many will be linked to a system which shuts off the gas supply if CO2 levels exceed a pre-determined threshold. This is typically 2800ppm or higher, though commercial detectors can often be set to react to any level of CO2.

Get your equipment checked at least once a year

Make sure that you have all gas appliances in your kitchen checked at least once a year by a Gas Safe-registered engineer who is qualified to carry out work on catering equipment. Make sure that you check their ID card when they visit your premises – you can then cross-check this information with the online Gas Safe Register. Our highly trained gas engineers will assess your equipment and issue you with a certificate that tells you about any of the work they’ve carried out.

Total Care

Existing customers

Month: October 2019

Equine Influenza

Strangles