Press Release
Charm Sciences Collaborates with AAA to Verify Sanitation Standards in the Hospitality Industry
Charm Sciences is proud to announce a collaboration with AAA to deliver superior sanitation monitoring and verify standards of cleanliness in the hotel industry.
The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging hotels to uphold stricter sanitation and cleaning procedures. In response, hotels are adopting new protocols. However, according to AAA research, 76% of consumers surveyed would be disappointed if a third-party inspection did not evaluate the sanitation of high-touch areas in a hotel.
As a result, Charm Sciences has trained and certified AAA inspectors to conduct ATP surface testing on pre-selected, high-touch areas in hotels, to help quantify and measure cleaning efforts. “With the new addition of surface testing, these properties will now also be recognized as Inspected Clean,” said Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President, AAA Travel.
The new Inspected Clean criteria add an objective, scientific validation that the hotel’s cleaning protocols are effective by detecting adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is an energy-carrying molecule found in all living cells. Most food sources, human skin cells, bacteria, yeast, mold, and biological material found in respiratory droplets contain ATP. Charm Sciences manufactures a bioluminescent test called PocketSwab Plus, to detect ATP as an indicator of surface cleanliness.
The AAA inspectors will use the PocketSwab Plus ATP test to swab eight high-touch surfaces, such as, guest room door handles, tv remotes, or sink faucet handles. In just five seconds, Charm’s novaLUM II-X system detects even the lowest levels of ATP contamination.
With the addition of Charm Sciences’ ATP surface testing to the AAA Diamond Program, AAA will recognize hotels that pass their unannounced inspection as Inspected Clean. Charm Sciences’ ATP monitoring system will help the hospitality industry to verify, quantify, and improve the cleanliness of their facilities.
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ABOUT CHARM SCIENCES
Established in 1978 in Greater Boston, Charm Sciences helps protect consumers, manufacturers, and global brands from a variety of issues through the development of food safety, water quality, and environmental diagnostics tests and equipment. Selling directly and through its network of distributors, Charm’s products serve the dairy, feed and grain, food and beverage, water, healthcare, environmental, and industrial markets in more than 100 countries around the globe.