The founder of the Hygiene Foundation of Australia, Gus Nehme, has developed a new program to improve hygiene for staff and customers in Australia’s food retail, cafe, and hospitality industries.

The White Tick Program aims to make food retail outlets, coffee shops, cafes, restaurants and food courts healthier places to dine at and work in.

The program is based on the ASKS principle of Awareness, Solution, Knowledge, and Support.

“We are dedicated to improving hygiene and well being for all Australians. We will do this by reducing the incidence of coming into contact with microorganisms by introducing a new standard of hygiene cleanliness – our exclusive White Tick Program – which is a system of new habits to improve health standards,” said Nehme.

“We will show that washing or sanitising hands for just 40 seconds results in dramatically improved protection for employees and their customers. Prevention is better than cure, and hand hygiene is the first line of defence.”

Nehme says there are right and wrong ways to wash your hands and sanitise surface areas. When food retail outlets demonstrate they have embraced these new habits they will be presented with the White Tick logo and certificate.

“Our figures show that businesses can save thousands of dollars each year. A healthy work place also reduces the incidence of anything happening to customers. For a coffee shop or cafe the last thing they want is having customers becoming ill.”