Questions relating to food businesses
What is the protocol when an employee working in a food business becomes ill with COVID-19?
Staff who are feeling unwell should not report to work and should seek medical
advice. However, in the event that a food worker becomes unwell in the
workplace with typical symptoms of COVID-19, they should be removed to an area
away from other people. If possible, find a room or area where they can be
isolated behind a closed door, such as a staff office. If it is possible to
open a window, do so for ventilation. Arrangements should be made for the
unwell employee to be removed quickly from the food premise.
The employee who is unwell should follow national guidelines for reporting
cases/suspect cases of COVID-19. Whilst they wait for medical advice or to be
sent home, they should avoid any contact with other employees. They should
avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their
mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the
tissue in a bag or pocket and then dispose of the tissue in a bin. If they do
not have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of
their elbow. If they need to go to the bathroom whilst waiting for medical
assistance, they should use a separate bathroom, if available.
All surfaces that the infected employee has come into contact with must be
cleaned. Alcohol based sanitizers/surface disinfectants should be used for
cleaning purposes. In general, alcohol-based disinfectants (ethanol,
propan-2-ol, propan-1-ol) have been shown to significantly reduce infectivity
of enveloped viruses like COVID-19 virus, in concentrations of 70-80%. Common
disinfectants with active ingredients based on quaternary ammonium compounds
(QUATS) and chlorine would also have virucidal properties. All staff should
wash their hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with soap and water after any
contact with someone who is unwell with symptoms consistent with coronavirus
infection.
If an employee is confirmed as a case of COVID-19 it will be necessary to
notify all close contacts of the infected employee so they too can take
measures to minimise further risk of spread. WHO definitions of a contact of a
COVID-19 case can be found here. Examples of
contacts in the food businesses could include any employee who was in face-to-
face or physical (i.e., touching) contact; any employee who was within 1 meter
with the confirmed case; anyone who has cleaned up any bodily fluids without
adequate PPE (e.g. gloves, overalls, protective clothing); employees in the
same working team or workgroup as the confirmed case, and any employee living
in the same household as a confirmed case.
WHO recommends that contacts be quarantined for 14 days from the last
point of exposure to the confirmed case.22 At a minimum, staff who have had
close contact with the infected employee should be asked to stay at home for
14 days from the last time they had contact with the confirmed case and
practice physical distancing. If they become unwell at any time within their
14-day isolation period and they test positive for COVID-19, they will become
a confirmed case, and should be managed as such.
Staff who have not had close contact with the original confirmed case should
continue taking the usual precautions and attend work as usual. Organising
employees into small teams or workgroups will help to minimise disruption to
work processes in the event of an employee reporting sick with symptoms of
COVID-19. Closure of the workplace is not recommended.
More detailed information can be found in COVID-19 and food safety: guidance
for food
businesses.
For more information on contacts of COVID-19 confirmed cases, see WHO
guidance on surveillance and case definitions.


Questions relating to food businesses
What specific precautions do food workers need to take?
Physical distancing, good personal hygiene with frequent hand washing, and
application of general food hygiene measures are the most important
precautions food workers should adopt. Physical distancing is very important
to help slow the spread of coronavirus. This is achieved by minimising contact
between potentially infected individuals and healthy individuals. Frequent
hand washing with soap and water and use of hand sanitizers are also important
in reducing the risk of transmission. All food businesses should follow the
physical distancing and hand washing guidance of WHO.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission has adopted several practical guidelines on how to
apply and implement best practices to ensure food hygiene (Codex General
Principles of Food Hygiene,
CXC 1- 1969),
handle meats (Codex Code of Hygienic Practice for
Meat,
CXC 58 – 2005),
and control viruses in foods (Guidelines for the Application of General
Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of Viruses in
Food
(CAC/GL 79-2012).
Enhanced food safety practices at this time, such as those recommended in the
Codex documents mentioned, will reduce the likelihood of contamination of
foods with any pathogen and help lowering the public health burden caused by
already established foodborne infections, reducing the stress on an already
overburdened public health system.


Questions relating to food businesses
When can an employee return to work following illness? Are temperature checks appropriate?
A return to work policy for staff who have been infected and recovered from
COVID-19 should be in place. WHO recommends that a confirmed patient could be
released from isolation once their symptoms resolve and they have two negative
PCR tests at least 24 hours apart. If testing is not possible, WHO
recommends that a confirmed patient can be released from isolation 14 days
after symptoms resolve.
Taking the temperature of food workers is not recommended. Fever is only one
of the symptoms of COVID-19 and absence of fever alone is not a reliable
indicator of wellness. As part of a food business ‘fitness to work’
guidelines, staff should report to management if they are sick with typical
COVID-19 symptoms, particularly fever.


Questions relating to food businesses
How should employees maintain safe distance from one another during food production and processing?
WHO guidelines are to maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) between fellow
workers. Where the food production environment makes it difficult to do so,
employers need to consider what measures to put in place to protect employees.
Examples of practical measures to adhere to physical distancing guidance in
the food processing environment are to:

stagger workstations on either side of processing lines so that food workers are not facing one another,
provide personal protection equipment (PPE) such as face masks, hair nets, disposable gloves, clean overalls and slip reduction work shoes for staff. The use of PPE would be routine in high risk areas of food premises that produce ready-to-eat and cooked foods. When staff are dressed in PPE it is possible to reduce distance between workers,
space out workstations, which may require reduction in the speed of production lines,
limit the number of staff in a food preparation area at any one time,
organise staff into working groups or teams to facilitate reduced interaction between groups, including during change of work shifts.


Questions relating to food businesses
How should baked goods and fresh produce be displayed in a food market/grocery store?
It is important to maintain good hygiene practices around open food displays,
with ready-to-eat food products such as salad bars, fresh produce displays and
bakery products. Consumers should always be advised to wash fruits and
vegetables with potable water prior to consumption. Both customers and staff
should strictly observe good personal hygiene practices at all times around
open food areas.
In order to hygienically manage open food displays and to avoid the
transmission of COVID-19 through surface contact, food retailers should:

Maintain frequent washing and sanitising of all food contact surfaces and utensils;
Require food service workers to frequently wash hands, and, if using gloves, these must be changed;
Require food service workers to frequently clean and sanitise counters, serving utensils and condiment containers;
Make available hand sanitiser for consumers on their way in and out of the food premises;
Should consider not openly displaying or selling unwrapped bakery products from self-service counters. Bakery products on open, self-service displays in retail stores should be placed in plastic/cellophane or paper packaging. Where loose bakery products are displayed in retail stores, these should be placed in plexiglass display cabinets and placed in bags using tongs when customers are served.
Ready-to-eat salads available in retail for self-serve, should also be placed behind plexiglass display cabinets and serving utensils should be frequently sanitized.


Questions relating to food businesses
Could the virus be transmitted from humans to food animals or vice versa?
Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that food animals could be a
possible route for transmission of COVID-19 to humans or that food animals can
become infected by humans. Studies are underway to better understand the
susceptibility of different animal species to the COVID-19 virus and to assess
infection dynamics in susceptible animal species. Additional information can
be found on the website of the World Organisation for Animal Health
(OIE).


Questions relating to food safety authorities
What are the lab protocols for identifying the virus in food? On surfaces?
As food has not been implicated in the transmission of COVID-19, testing of
food or food surfaces for this virus is not recommended. Frequent cleaning of
food contact surfaces with virucidal disinfectants such as 0.05% sodium
hypochlorite (NaClO) or products based on ethanol (at least 70%) should be
carried out. Alcohol-based disinfectants (ethanol, propan-2-ol, propan-1-ol)
have been shown to significantly reduce infectivity of enveloped viruses like
SARS-CoV-2, in concentrations of 70-80% with one-minute exposure time.
Chlorine-based disinfectants (sodium hypochlorite) are effective for surface
decontamination, as are disinfectants with active ingredients based on
quaternary ammonium compounds (QUATS).


Questions relating to food safety authorities
What do food inspectors need to consider when reopening a food business when the pandemic is over?
Food inspectors do not need to intervene when restaurants reopen after having
closed upon the advice of national governments.


Questions relating to food safety authorities
Is quarantine necessary for live animals imported from countries experiencing a large numbers of COVID-19 cases?
No, food animals have not been implicated in the transmission of COVID-19 and
the same import controls should apply as before this pandemic. See Q&A from
the World Organisation for Animal Health for more about COVID-19 and animals.


Questions relating to food safety authorities
Do food inspectors need to wear any protective equipment?
In the course of conducting a food inspection, food inspectors routinely wear
protective equipment. There is no need for additional protective equipment to
be used. The primary focus of the additional hygiene and sanitation measures
implemented by food businesses should be on keeping the COVID-19 out of their
businesses. COVID-19 virus will only enter business premises when an infected
person enters, or contaminated fomites are brought into the premises. Food
safety authorities should consider reducing the frequency of food inspections
during this pandemic. If food inspectors continue to carry out food
inspections, they will need to demonstrate that they are free from infection,
they will need to practice physical distancing while in the food premises,
changing clothes/shoes between inspections, washing hands before and after
entering the food premises and good coughing/sneezing etiquette.


Questions relating to food safety authorities
How do we ensure the food supply chain remains intact to prevent food shortages?
While many businesses have introduced working from home and teleworking, these
are not options for food workers who are required to continue to work as
normal. Keeping all workers in the food production and supply chains healthy
and safe is critical to avoid food shortage. Maintaining the movement of food
along the food chain is an essential function of all sectors of the food
industry and is extremely important for ensuring consumer confidence in the
food supply. In order to ensure that the food supply chain remains intact to
prevent food shortages there is an urgent requirement for the industry to
introduce additional measures to protect food workers from contracting
COVID-19; to prevent the risk of exposure to COVID-19, and to strengthen
existing food hygiene and sanitation practices.


Questions relating to food safety authorities
How should imported foods from countries with high prevalence of COVID-19 be treated?
As food has not been implicated in the transmission of COVID-19, imported food
should be subjected to the same import controls as before the pandemic. See
FAO guidance on risk based imported food
control.