--- title: Why Automated Hygiene is the Best for Food Safety and Sustainability description: Food safety and sustainability are not separate entities. Waste less and protect health and safety with automated hygiene. image: https://www.meritech.com/hubfs/Sustainability%20Feature.png --- [ Skip navigation menu ](https://www.meritech.com/blog/why-automated-hygiene-is-the-best-for-food-safety-and-sustainability#content) [![meritech-logo-tagline](https://www.meritech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/lafferty-website-2026/global-assets/meritech-logo-tagline.png?width=200&height=74&name=meritech-logo-tagline.png) ](https://www.meritech.com/) - [ Hygiene Systems ](https://www.meritech.com/products/hygiene-solutions) Show submenu for Hygiene Systems - [ Automated Hand Hygiene ](https://www.meritech.com/products/hand-sanitation-stations) - [ Boot Scrubbers and Footwear Sanitation ](https://www.meritech.com/products/boot-scrubbers) - [ Industries ](https://www.meritech.com/markets) Show submenu for Industries - [ Food Processing & Manufacturing ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/food-processing) - [ Healthcare ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/healthcare_medical) - [ Hospitality ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/travel_leisure) - [ Education ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/education) - [ Gyms and Public Facilities ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/gyms-and-public-facilities-meritech) - [ Cleanroom and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/pharmaceutical-cleanroom) - [ Grocery ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/grocery) - [ Municipality and Correction Facilities ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/municipality-and-correction-facilities-meritech) - [ Why Us ](https://www.meritech.com/why-meritech) - [ Support ](https://www.meritech.com/services/technical-support) Show submenu for Support - [ Resources ](https://www.meritech.com/resources) - [ Blog ](https://www.meritech.com/blog) - [ Technical Support ](https://www.meritech.com/services/technical-support) - [ Success Stories ](https://www.meritech.com/meritech-cleantech-testimonials) [ Contact ](https://www.meritech.com/contact/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ** Toggle main navigation - [ Hygiene Systems ](https://www.meritech.com/products/hygiene-solutions) Show submenu for Hygiene Systems - [ Automated Hand Hygiene ](https://www.meritech.com/products/hand-sanitation-stations) - [ Boot Scrubbers and Footwear Sanitation ](https://www.meritech.com/products/boot-scrubbers) - [ Industries ](https://www.meritech.com/markets) Show submenu for Industries - [ Food Processing & Manufacturing ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/food-processing) - [ Healthcare ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/healthcare_medical) - [ Hospitality ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/travel_leisure) - [ Education ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/education) - [ Gyms and Public Facilities ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/gyms-and-public-facilities-meritech) - [ Cleanroom and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/pharmaceutical-cleanroom) - [ Grocery ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/grocery) - [ Municipality and Correction Facilities ](https://www.meritech.com/markets/municipality-and-correction-facilities-meritech) - [ Why Us ](https://www.meritech.com/why-meritech) - [ Support ](https://www.meritech.com/services/technical-support) Show submenu for Support - [ Resources ](https://www.meritech.com/resources) - [ Blog ](https://www.meritech.com/blog) - [ Technical Support ](https://www.meritech.com/services/technical-support) - [ Success Stories ](https://www.meritech.com/meritech-cleantech-testimonials) [ Contact ](https://www.meritech.com/contact/) Post Tags - [Food Processing](https://www.meritech.com/blog/tag/hygiene-in-food-processing) # Why Automated Hygiene is the Best for Food Safety and Sustainability [Meritech](https://www.meritech.com/blog/author/meritech) Jun 29, 2022 4 min read ![](https://www.meritech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sustainability%20Feature.png?width=1600&height=900&name=Sustainability%20Feature.png) Many food companies are trying to be cognizant of their environmental impacts. While focusing on things like recycling and energy savings are important food Safety and sustainability are interlinked when it comes to water usage, and with at least [40 states anticipating water shortages in the next decade](https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts) the need to conserve water is critical.  ## Water Waste and Hand Hygiene In a typical food plant, [hygienic zones ](https://www.meritech.com/hygiene-zone-design-consultation)will be filled with [industrial sinks ](https://www.meritech.com/blog/pitfalls-of-industrial-sinks-for-handwashing)and wash fountains. These types of sinks are not built with water savings in mind. Often the faucets will be triggered by foot pedals at the bottom of the units. When a worker first approaches the sinks, they’ll typically trigger the faucet immediately. Meanwhile they’ll be lathering their hands with soap after a brief rinse, and during all this time (ideally longer than 20 seconds) the water will continue to run down the drain without contacting their hands. If a facility is using a [wash fountain](https://www.meritech.com/blog/wash-fountain-vs.-cleantech-automatic-hand-wash-for-food-safety), then multiple faucets will be running even if there is only one person washing their hands. ![Food Safety and Sustainability](https://www.meritech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MARKETING%20-%20Imagery%20and%20Videos/Stock%20Photos%20and%20Videos/Water%20running%20from%20a%20tap%20into%20a%20kitchen%20sink-1.jpeg?width=342&name=Water%20running%20from%20a%20tap%20into%20a%20kitchen%20sink-1.jpeg) Gallons of water are being wasted hourly at facilities using these large industrial sinks. Luckily, there is an alternative to industrial sinks and wash fountains for food safety and sustainability with the introduction of [automated handwashing stations](https://www.meritech.com/products/handwashing-systems). [Learn more about sustainable hand hygiene!](https://www.meritech.com/blog/saving-water-during-handwashing-with-cleantech) ## Automated Hand Hygiene for Food Safety and Sustainability With [CleanTech® Automated Hand Washing Stations](https://www.meritech.com/products/handwashing-systems), handwashing time is cut in half, and CleanTech® uses only 0.6 gallons of water during each hand hygiene event. Plus, during an automated hand wash, every drop of water is used to ensure proper pathogen removal. No water is wasted just going down the drain! Each automated hand wash is also [more effective than a manual hand wash](https://www.meritech.com/blog/how-a-12-second-automatic-hand-wash-beats-a-20-second-manual-hand-wash) with [99.9% of harmful pathogens removed ](https://www.meritech.com/efficacy)during the 12 second wash cycle.![Food Safety and Sustainability](https://www.meritech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202021-10-22%20at%2011.39.19%20AM-1.png?width=405&name=Screen%20Shot%202021-10-22%20at%2011.39.19%20AM-1.png) Don’t let manual hand wash sinks and wash fountains undo your corporate food safety and sustainability goals. One of our customers, Kern Meat Company, have even been recognized as award winners for food safety and noted how they’ve cut their water use in half with [CleanTech®](https://www.meritech.com/products/handwashing-systems): "Kern Meat Company also invested in two handwashing stations for its processing room that Dr. Sherman says delivers a safer and cleaner handwashing solution than traditional soap and water. The stations achieved the same efficacy in 12 seconds as handwashing reached in 20 seconds. The handwashing stations also provided some energy savings. At the former plant, which was five times smaller than the new one, the company consumed about 400 gallons of water per day for employee handwashing; the new stations cut that in half." – [Food Quality and Safety Magazine](https://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FQU_0621_FipThrough-1.pdf) [Learn more about why automation is the best for food safety!](https://www.meritech.com/downloadable-resources/why-automation-ebook)     ### Get The Latest Posts in Your Inbox ## Related Posts - ![](https://www.meritech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Exceed%20Food%20Safety%20Feature.png?width=500&height=375&name=Exceed%20Food%20Safety%20Feature.png) [Food Processing](https://www.meritech.com/blog/tag/hygiene-in-food-processing), [Food Safety Audit](https://www.meritech.com/blog/tag/food-safety-audit) ### [ Exceed Food Safety Regulations and Standards with Automation ](https://www.meritech.com/blog/exceed-food-safety-regulations-and-standards-with-automation) Food safety leaders are well aware of the many food safety regulations and standards that their plants need to adhere ... Read more - ![](https://www.meritech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sustainability%20EVO%20Blog%20FI.png?width=500&height=375&name=Sustainability%20EVO%20Blog%20FI.png) ### [ CleanTech® EVO: The Future of Sustainable Hand Hygiene in Food Safety ](https://www.meritech.com/blog/cleantech-evo-the-next-big-thing-in-food-safety-sustainability) When you examine a manual hand wash closely, you'll find that it is far from optimal in terms of food safety as well as ... Read more - ![](https://www.meritech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/_Industrial%20Sinks%20vs.%20CleanTech%C2%AE%20EVO%20Industrial%20Automated%20Handwashing%20Stations.png?width=500&height=375&name=_Industrial%20Sinks%20vs.%20CleanTech%C2%AE%20EVO%20Industrial%20Automated%20Handwashing%20Stations.png) [Hand Hygiene Resources](https://www.meritech.com/blog/tag/hand-hygiene-resources) ### [ Industrial Sinks vs. CleanTech® EVO Industrial Automated Handwashing Stations ](https://www.meritech.com/blog/industrial-sinks-vs-industrial-automated-handwashing-stations) Industrial sinks are a common option for high throughput areas for industrial companies like: Food processing and ... 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