Even though evidence doesn’t point to COVID-19 posing a food safety risk, Paul Medeiros, managing director of consulting & technical services, North America, at NSF International, said that food manufacturers must still be aware of the non-direct food safety consequences of the pandemic. In a recent installment of SFA’s Ask the Experts webinar series, Medeiros shared safety recommendations and best practices for food manufacturers.
“The Japanese use a term called Poke Yoke, which essentially means error proofing,” said Medeiros. He suggested being hyper-vigilant through operational and personnel controls (such as temperature screenings, face masks, hand hygiene, and employee shift management), physical distancing, monitoring, and constant communication to help food manufacturers keep the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak at their facility low.
In addition, Medieros shared five critical things that food makers should ask their suppliers and co-manufacturers to ensure optimal safety:
- Ask to be provided with specific details on how physical distancing is maintained among employees.
- Ask how it determines its hot spots and common touch points for direct (employee to employee) contact and indirect (e.g. through common touch points) contact and the related control measures.
- Ask to see recent employee health screening records.
- Ask to see the policy and SOP on handling a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 or an employee who was in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
- Ask to see training and performance records for your recent hires or temporary employees.
from Industry Operations https://ift.tt/2yGm3ah
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