Protecting your Food Business from Covid-19 Part 2

 

In my first article we focused on two primary ways to prepare our food businesses for the outbreak of Coronavirus. The advice given was to work on strengenthing two primary policies and processes;

1. Cleaning and Sanitising
2. Personal Hygiene

If you would like to read the full article click here.

In light of the ever-evolving Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, now our country appears to be moving closer and closer towards a period of lockdown. This effects food businesses more than most, especially those in the food service industry.

There is currently still no evidence to suggest this is spread through food. However, there are still some more things we can actively do to protect ourselves, our staff, our customers and ultimately our businesses.

1. Monitor Staff Closely:

Lets face it, we couldn’t run our businesses without out staff. They are our single biggest asset and we need them to be as healthy as possible, and if they are not well we need to be able to reduce the risk of infection spreading to other staff.

According to the World Health Organisation symptoms for the Coronavirus (Covid-19) begins with pain in the throat and a dry cough. It then takes 3-4 days to spread to the lungs. This is when the fevers begin.

The key is to not wait until the symptoms become obvious. Add to your personal hygiene policy that anyone who has a sore throat must report it immediately and stay away from work until they have been cleared.

Improved Sickness Reporting Chart

2. Set up a Delivery Service

No matter what happens people still need to eat! If you do not already have one, look at setting up a delivery service so you are still able to feed your loyal customer base. Remember to:

• Communicate with your customers how you intend to manage dropping off with no human contact.
• Have a written policy available on your website outlining how you are ensuring your food, packaging, delivery driver and vehicle are being protected.
• Make sure your website is up to date with your menu items and prices.
• Can your customers order and pay online? If not look at your options here.

3. Write it Down!

Any changes or additions to your policies, processes and cleaning schedules need to be written down and stored in your Food Control Plan. Include extra safety measures taken or any staff sickness in your Food Control Diary. Don’t forget that any changes and additions to your Food Control Plan will need to be recorded on your Amendments Record.

Misplaced your amendments record? Click here to download one.

4. Support Local Suppliers

If you have not already noticed, there is little point in trying to import anything from overseas right now. Import and export restrictions are increasing daily and there is a lot of uncertainty around when this will be lifted.

If you use imported products and are not currently well stocked then now is the time to look for a New Zealand based manufacturer to fill in the gap.

Keep up to date with any border restrictions here: https://www.customs.govt.nz/business/import/prohibited-and-restricted-imports/

5. Plan for a down turn in trade

Unfortunately, at this stage, less customers seems inevitable. You can plan for this by:

• Organising staff rostering accordingly.
• Encourage staff to take any outstanding paid leave now.
• Review how much product (particularly perishable product) you are ordering and adjust accordingly.

Here at Foodcontrolplans.co.nz we are always focused on the safety of all of our clients as well as their customers. For this reason we have ensured we are fully set up to run as business as usual without any unnecessary face to face meetings. Please get in touch if you would like to talk about how you can keep your food business running during this time.

If you would like to discuss how to get yourself and your staff Food Safety and Hygiene Certificates as a part of your staff training programme please flick me a message on anna@foodcontrolplans.co.nz or give us a call at 0800 FOR FCP.