Can covid-19 be transferred THROUGH FOOD?
No, there is no scientific evidence that the COVID-19 can be transmitted through food.
Good food hygiene in food handling and preparation should be continued to be followed such as
Good food hygiene in food handling and preparation should be continued to be followed such as
- washing hands
- regularly cleaning and disinfecting surfaces
- cooking meat thoroughly
- avoiding potential cross-contamination between cooked and uncooked foods
cfia guIDANCE AND REFERENCE FOR THE FOOD INDUSTRY
CFIA has issued a series of guidance document on handling COVID-19 for the food industry. This is inclusive of:
- Business activities
- Social Distancing for Employee
- Guidance on Steps when Food Employees are ill with COVID-19
- CFIA expectations for the prevention of and response to suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 by operators
work safe bc gUIDELINES FOR FOOD RETAILER, caFE AND RESTAURANT
Work Safe BC has published a guidelines to ensure employee's heath and safety. You can download a COVID-19 Safety Plan Checklist here.
wHAT DISINFECTING AGENTS SHOULD I BE USING?
CFIA has listed a series of hard-surface disinfectant for COVID-19. You can search for the disinfectant list here.
canadian GOVERNMENT RESOURCES FOR FOOD BUSINESS AND FRONT LINE WORKERS
There are many ways Canadian government is supporting safe food supply in Canada including
Find out more at this link.
- Resources (Financial Support)
- Sanitation and Quarantine Protocol if a worker is sick
- Staffing and Temporary Foreign Worker policy
- Maintaining Trade Activity
Find out more at this link.
TIPS FOR MOVING WORK TO "REMOTE WORKING"
The transition from working in the office or production floor versus working from home can mean different things for different people.Especially if your kids or pets tends to be very clingy to you at home.
Here are few ideas to try to make it a pleasant experience.
Here are few ideas to try to make it a pleasant experience.
- Set a regular working hours that work for you: We know we will be working for 8 hours -set it in a way it works for you. Maybe your kids sleep at 2pm -4pm daily and it is a quiet time, take advantage of the quiet time. As for dinner, you can prepare it together with your kids when they wake up. It also helps with family bonding.
- Managing eating and cooking at home: I tend to prepare food from the night before or cook noodles soup for lunch that takes a 15 minutes time for cooking and preparation. Otherwise, I am a big fan of crock pot -I set it up early in the morning and it is just right for dinner.
- Distraction from home-task: I have separate laptop for work and home, that makes separating tasks a little easier. Following schedules for work and personal time also helps.
- Losing social touch: I think it is important mentally that we are getting some social connection between our colleagues. Nothing stops you from calling to say hi or connect if you are working on a project together. Take advantage of our video conferencing development. P/s: Microsoft Team has an amazing background that make you feel that you are working from a nice office space. Check it out.
- Managing Employee Working from Home: Recognize that everyone is transitioning during this period. If your employees need helps or more time with their project, recognize that and ask if you can help. Not only that you are being empathetic, he or she would also recognize that the project are important and you are there for them.
- Music: I love playing soft music to help me focus with my work and studies. It really helps. My recommendation. Note: it may be slightly drowsy for some people.
KEEPING EMPLOYEE SAFE
Here are few good food industry practices that I have seen through webinars and like to share it with you.
- Allow employees that can work from home, to stay at home
- Update and inform employee on sick policy. Take advantage of the income subsidies for sick employees to stay home. Ensuring employees know what to do when they are sick. In example, informing their supervisor directly and not coming to work. Eliminate requirement for doctor’s note to be consistent with the self isolation policy when sick.
- Temperature check and health questionnaire daily when coming to work.
- Increase cleaning and sanitation activities at production facilities. Use of checklist to ensure the commonly touch surfaces are sanitized at a set frequency.
- Set employees at least 2 m apart from each other. If this is not possible, some facilities uses plastic barriers setup to block any aerosol from dispersing from one employee to another employee.
- If you are hiring temporary workers, it is important to ensure the temporary workers are trained in GMP procedures and the process.
- Train employees on the new rules pertaining to the above changes.
- If your employees are unfortunately positively tested with COVID-19, inform all employees that may have been in contact with the employees and follow CFIA guidance. The facility must be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
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