HAMPTON — Bacteria beware. A new innovation from Foss Manufacturing offers nearly a 100 percent solution for blocking bacteria from the body. Foss's new surgical mask won the New Hampshire High Technology Council's 2011 Product of the Year.

Foss, a Hampton-based company that produces engineered, non-woven fabrics and specialty syntheticfibers won the 2011 POY award for the SpectraShield 9500 N95 Surgical Respirator Mask. The mask, which features Foss's revolutionary Fosshield embedded antimicrobial technology, eliminates 99.99 percent of bacteria on the treated surface within one hour and certain strains of harmful bacteria on contact before they can enter the body.

A large audience and Gov. John Lynch attended the 6th annual event Nov. 14 as the NHHTC honored the top five companies competing for the POY award with Judges Awards. The five finalists were selected by judges from a larger pool of candidates in October. The five displayed their products at a reception before the evening event, and then made seven-minute pitches as part of their effort to encourage the audience to vote for their product. The popular vote and previous judging by a panel of business and technology experts were equally weighed, and Foss Manufacturing took top honors for 2011.

Bill Hurst, vice president of business development at Foss, said he was excited to present the SpectraShield at the banquet as "it provides a unique opportunity to highlight this key breakthrough technology that has a distinct benefit for society."

Speaking about the SpectraShield Mask and Fosshield technology, Hurst said Foss's focus is, "to not only provide but extend this technology for everyday use for us, our family members, in our clothing, when we travel — there is such a broad range of applications."

The four other finalists and Judge's Award winners were Russound of Newmarket; iGlobe of Franklin; Integra of Hudson and Scribe of Manchester.

Foss earned the NHHTC Product of the Year crystal trophy and its name will be added to the trophy. It and an exhibit of the winning product will be displayed at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport for one year. For more information go to www.nhhtc.org.