Guidance on Operating Your Food Business During the COVID-19 Crisis
What you need to know about coronavirus and food…
According to the UK Government and Public Health England, it is very unlikely that you can catch coronavirus from food. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, and it is not known to be transmitted by exposure to food or packaging. Any food handler who is unwell should not be at work. If they have any symptoms of coronavirus, they should follow government advice and stay at home.
Although it is very unlikely that coronavirus is transmitted through food, as a matter of good hygiene practice anyone handling food should wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This should be done as a matter of routine, before and after handling food, and especially after being in a public place, blowing their nose, coughing or sneezing.
Food business operators should continue to follow the Food Standard Agency’s (FSA) guidance on good hygiene practices in food preparation and their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) processes.
Steps all food businesses should be taking;
Employers should stress the importance of more frequent handwashing and maintaining good hygiene practices in food preparation and handling areas. Employees should wash their hands for 20 seconds, especially after being in a public place, blowing their nose, coughing or sneezing
Objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, should be frequently cleaned and disinfected using your standard appropriate cleaning products
If anyone becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature in the business or workplace they should be sent home and advised to follow the stay at home guidance. If you or an employee are experiencing symptoms, visit NHS 111 online or call 111 if there is no internet access
The advice on social distancing measures applies to everyone. You need to minimise opportunities for the virus to spread by maintaining a distance of 2 metres between individuals. The advice applies to both inside the food business and in the external public areas where customers may need to queue. People should be reminded to wash their hands for 20 seconds and more frequently than normal
Effective measures to support the fight against COVID-19 will vary from business to business but could include the following;
TAKEAWAYS AND RESTAURANTS OFFERING A PICK-UP SERVICE
No order should be taken in person on the premises - this should be communicated to customers by appropriate means such as signage
Businesses should therefore only take orders online or by telephone
Customers could have staggered collection times - customers should be discouraged from entering the premises until their order is ready
Customers arriving without having already placed an order should be encouraged to leave the premises to place the order by telephone or online and to return at a designated time for collection
Customers whose orders are ready should enter one at a time to collect orders and make payments
Businesses should discourage crowding outside the premises. Where possible, use queue management systems to maintain the 2 metres separation
SUPERMARKETS AND FOOD STORES
Supermarkets and food stores need to avoid crowding and create adequate spacing between individuals
Monitoring the number of customers within store and limiting access to avoid congestion
Implementing queue management systems to limit crowds gathering at entrances and maintaining the 2 metres distance
Reminding customers to only buy what they need
Public Health England (PHE) supports measures to allow safe privileged access to elderly and essential workers such as NHS and Social Care staff
FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS
Food safety practices in food processing plants should continue to be delivered to the highest hygiene standards including the use of some personal protective equipment and frequent hand washing.
All employers are expected to follow social distancing guidance, including food businesses, as far as is reasonably possible. Where the production environment makes it difficult to do so, employers should consider what measures may be put in place to protect employees.
Details in this article have been obtained from the UK Government (08/04/2020). For more government information and guidance as a food business see the links below;