Sarah O’Neill, head of policy at Consumer Focus Scotland, said: “Our 2009 research into water cooler hygiene found that around one in four were failing to meet one or more safety and hygiene standards. When that research was published, we identified that awareness of this issue needs to increase, not only to encourage those responsible for water coolers on their premises to ensure they’re cleaned and maintained regularly, but also to help people to use them in such a way that they don’t contaminate them for the next person.”
James Anderton, chairman of the European Drinking Water Cooler Association, added: “The EDWCA fully supports the recommendations and campaign initiated by Consumer Focus Scotland.
“As part of the EDWCA distributor membership, each company is independently audited on an annual basis to ensure conformity. These audits focus much of their effort on hygiene and safety of water coolers to enable users to confidently use our members’ equipment.
“Due to the importance of this issue and to give complete consumer reassurance, any member found to have fallen below the required standards is automatically suspended from the governing trade association.”
John Dundon, chairman of the British Water Cooler Association, said: “BWCA and its members are committed to safe and healthy hydration of the UK workforce. The Consumer Focus Scotland poster is an excellent step forward to ensure water coolers are used safely and hygienically.”
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