Campden BRI case study
Dyson's Airblade hand dryer
Rapid and effective drying of hands after washing is an extremely important part of maintaining good hygiene in food production. The Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryer uses unheated air travelling at 400 mph and forced through a filter to remove 99.9% of bacteria, to dry hands in 10 seconds. However, all hand drying techniques have the potential to generate bacterial aerosols. The possibility that this could contaminate the food production environment needed to be carefully considered.
Dyson therefore commissioned Campden BRI's hygiene specialists to undertake comparative studies of the generation and spread of microbial aerosols by conventional hand drying (e.g. paper towels, conventional air dryers) and the Dyson AirbladeTM.
The study concluded that there were no practical differences between any of the hand drying techniques investigated with regard to microbial aerosol generation. The very low numbers of airborne microbes resulting from use of each of the hand dryers would make an insignificant contribution to the overall background microbial loading of the air in a food processing environment.
The study helped to provide Dyson with the evidence-based reassurance they needed to promote the AirbladeTM to the food and drinks industry as a rapid and effective hand drying system – for use as an integral part of hand hygiene management in food production. The Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryer was named 'Best New Product 2007' at the Society of Food Hygiene & Technology Awards, sponsored by Sainsbury's.
