WHO Food Safety Guidelines for Food Businesses During COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite the lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak, food businesses need to continue to work as part of essential services. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has prepared some guidelines, which the food industry could follow, to remain safe and prevent the spread of the disease in their premises. As the outbreak spreads, the food industry needs to urgently comply with additional measures that will protect food workers and prevent exposure to COVID-19 or transmission of the virus and so strengthen food hygiene and sanitation practices. Since supply of food is an essential service so all stakeholders in the entire food chain will need to ensure food safety and at the same time keep all workers safe and healthy in the food production and supply chains. WHO has included additional measures that the food industry requires, to maintain the integrity of the food chain as well as ensure that adequate and safe food supplies are available for consumers.

To manage food safety and prevent food contamination, the WHO has recommended that besides the routine Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food business must include additional measures because of the present situation. Food businesses with FSMS and/or HACCP programmes in place, need to include members of these programmes in all discussions to ensure that any additional food safety measures can be met effectively. In case a food business does not have a FSMS and/or HACCP team, then it needs to appoint someone who would be responsible to see whether there are any additional food safety risks in the present situation. The designated person must liaise with food safety authorities for advice.

Potential transmission of COVID-19 via food

WHO has stated that people cannot contract COVID-19 from food or food packaging as COVID-19 is a respiratory illness. The primary transmission route is through person-to-person contact and through direct contact with respiratory droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes, producing droplets that reach the nose, mouth, or eyes of another person. It is also known that the respiratory droplets are too heavy to be airborne, but they can land on objects and surfaces surrounding the infected person. It is possible that someone may become infected by touching a contaminated surface, object, or the hand of an infected person and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes. This can happen, for instance, when touching door knobs or shaking hands and then touching the face.

• So far there is no evidence that viruses that cause respiratory illnesses can be  transmitted via food or food packaging.
• Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food as they need an animal or human host to multiply.

Recent research has evaluated the survival of the COVID-19 virus on different surfaces and reported that the virus can remain viable for up to

• 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel,
• four hours on copper
• 24 hours on cardboard.

What is important to note however, is that since the virus can spread from surfaces, the food industry must reinforce personal hygiene measures. They must provide refresher training on food hygiene principles to all food workers to eliminate or reduce the risk of food surfaces and food packaging materials becoming contaminated with the virus that can come from any food workers.

Safety Measures for Food Industry 

The following measures must be taken by the food industry so as to protect staff and prevent any spread of COVID-19 among workers, maintain a healthy workforce, and detect and exclude infected food handlers and their immediate contacts from the workplace. If carried out properly, the following measures will be effective in preventing the spread of the virus within the food industry. food businesses must

• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves to workers
• introduce physical distancing
• carry out stringent hygiene and sanitation measures
• promote frequent and effective handwashing and sanitation at each stage of food processing, manufacture and marketing
• laying emphasis on handwashing, especially after using the toilet is extremely essential when working with food.

Food businesses need to introduce a high level of security and staff management to maintain a disease-free working environment. Prerequisite plan must be in place so that COVID-19 infected (symptomatic individuals and confirmed asymptomatic carriers) workers and their contacts (those with exposure to confirmed cases) are excluded from food premises. Staff who are unwell or who have any symptoms of COVID-19 should not work. A procedure to allow staff to report illness by phone (or email) should be established so that workers with early stages of COVID-19 can receive reliable information and be quickly excluded from work environments. Food safety practices in food premises should continue to be delivered to the highest hygiene standards in line with established FSMS.

Awareness of COVID-19 among Food Workers

Food workers does not only mean food handlers but includes all people in the food industry like managers, cleaners, maintenance contractors, delivery workers, and food inspectors as all these people can come in contact with food or food preparation surfaces as part of their work. WHO recommends that anyone who is not feeling well must stay at home especially if they display any of the COVID-19 symptoms. They must also seek out medical help and undertake testing to minimise the risk of infecting fellow workers.

Common symptoms of COVID-19 include

• a fever (high temperature – 37.5 degrees Celsius or above)
• a cough – this can be any kind of cough, not just dry
• shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
• fatigue

 Preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the work environment

• All personnel working in food premises should be provided with written instructions and training on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• Carrying out normal health fitness check-ups will ensure that infected workers are excluded from food premises.

The above -mentioned steps are most important because, if an infected worker handles food, it is possible that they could introduce virus to the food they are working on, or onto surfaces within the food business, by coughing and sneezing, or through hand contact. In addition, in some cases, infected people may be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic and may not display any signs or symptoms of disease or may display mild symptoms that are easily overlooked. Some infected people not yet displaying symptoms have been shown to be contagious and capable of spreading the virus.

 Good hygienic practices for food workers

• proper hand hygiene – washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (follow WHO advice)
• frequent use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers
• good respiratory hygiene (cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing; dispose of tissues and wash hands)
• frequent cleaning/disinfection of work surfaces and touch points such as door handles
• avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.

 Use of disposable gloves

• Gloves may be used by food workers but must be changed frequently
• Hands must be washed between glove changes and when gloves are removed.
• Gloves must be changed after carrying out non-food related activities, such as opening/closing doors by hand, and emptying bins.
• Food workers should be aware that wearing gloves can allow bacteria to build up on the surface of the hands, so handwashing is extremely important when gloves are removed to avoid subsequent contamination of food.
• Food workers should avoid touching their mouth and eyes when wearing gloves.
• Disposable gloves should not be used in the food work environment as a substitute for handwashing.
• Wearing disposable gloves can give a false sense of security and may result in staff not washing hands as frequently as required. They must wash hands each time they remove their gloves.

It is good to be aware that COVID-19 virus can contaminate disposable gloves in the same way it gets onto workers’ hands. Removal of disposable gloves can lead to contamination of hands. Food businesses need to ensure that adequate sanitary facilities are provided and ensure that food workers thoroughly and frequently wash their hands even if they are wearing gloves. Normal soap and warm running water is adequate for handwashing. Hand sanitizers can be used as an additional measure but should not replace handwashing.

Physical distancing in the work environment

All food businesses should follow physical distancing or social distancing as we say. WHO recommends a distance of at least 1 metre (3 feet) between fellow workers. Examples of practical measures for physical distancing in the food-processing environment are

• Arrange workstations on either side of processing lines so that food workers are not facing one another
• In case the workspace does not permit distancing, then provide PPE’s like face masks, hair nets, disposable gloves, clean overalls, and slip reduction work shoes for staff. When staff are dressed in PPE it is possible to reduce distance between workers
• The use of PPE would be routine in high-risk areas of food premises that produce ready-to-eat and cooked foods.
• space out workstations even if there needs to be 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.

COVID-19 illness in the workplace

The additional FSMS programme should include guidelines for managing staff sickness in food premises, so there is a need for an action plan in case there is such an occurrence. The guidelines should also have instruction for reporting staff sickness and policies for return to work when staff recover from illness. The staff must be aware how they are to report illness at the earliest and prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to fellow workers.

• Staff need to be aware that they should not report to work with symptoms of COVID-19 but notify such illness by telephone/email.
• Staff who are feeling unwell should not report to work but seek medical advice.
• 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.
• If they need to go to the bathroom while waiting for medical assistance, they should use a separate bathroom, if available.
• Arrangements should be in place so that the unwell employee can be removed quickly from the food premises.
• The employee who is unwell should follow national guidelines for reporting cases/ suspect cases of COVID-19. While they wait for medical advice or to be sent home, to them they should avoid any contact with other employees.
• All surfaces that the potentially infected employee has come into contact with must be cleaned, including all surfaces and objects visibly contaminated with body fluids/respiratory secretions, and all potentially contaminated high-contact areas such as toilets, door handles, and telephones. 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 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 to have 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.
• Examples of contacts in the food industry could include any employee who was in face-to-face or physical (i.e. touching) contact; any employee who was within 1 metre with the confirmed case; anyone who has cleaned up any body fluids without adequate PPE (e.g. gloves, overalls, protective clothing); employees in the same working team or work group 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. 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 cases.
• 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 the workforce in the event of an employee reporting sickness with symptoms of COVID-19. Closure of the workplace is not recommended.
• 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 case could be released from isolation once their symptoms resolve and they have two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart.
• WHO recommends that a confirmed patient can be released from isolation 14 days after symptoms resolve.

Transport and delivery of food ingredients and food products

Most food businesses will not like to have the virus enter their premises and so additional hygiene and sanitation practices must be in place. The virus can enter premises only when an infected person enters or contaminated products or items are brought into the premises. Precautions to be taken when transporting and delivering food products are  

• Drivers and other staff who are delivering material to food premises should not leave their vehicles during delivery.
• Drivers should be supplied with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, a disinfectant, and paper towels.
• Drivers should use a hand sanitizer before passing delivery documents to food premises staff.
• Disposable containers and packaging should be used to avoid the need for cleaning of any returns. In the case of reusable containers, appropriate hygiene and sanitation protocols should be implemented.
• Drivers delivering to food premises should be aware of the potential risks involved in contact transmission of COVID-19. The virus can be picked up if drivers touch a contaminated surface or shake hands with an infected person with contaminated hands.
• Surfaces most likely contaminated with the virus include frequent touch surfaces such as steering wheels, door handles, mobile devices, etc. This is why hand hygiene, in conjunction with physical distancing, is of paramount importance and why contact surface sanitation is critical to avoid cross-contamination.
• Drivers need to be aware of physical distancing when picking up deliveries and passing deliveries to customers and of the need to maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and to wear clean protective clothing.
• Drivers also need to be aware of the need to ensure that all transport containers are kept clean and frequently disinfected
• Foods must be protected from contamination, and must be separated from other goods that may cause contamination.

Retail food premises

During this COVID-19 pandemic, it is the food retail sector that is facing some of the greatest challenges in maintaining the highest standards of hygiene, protecting staff from the risk of infection, maintaining physical distancing when dealing with large numbers of customers, remaining open, and ensuring that adequate supplies of foods are available on a daily basis.

Food workers in retail premises are unlikely to contaminate food if they follow all the good personal hygiene practices that reduce the risk of transmission of most foodborne illnesses. Taking the following measures will reduce the risk of spreading the disease

• frequent handwashing, use of hand sanitizers, use of protective clothing, good respiratory hygiene
• Employers should ensure that there is frequent handwashing and maintaining good hygiene practices
• There must be more frequency in cleaning and disinfecting surfaces that are frequently touched
• Food workers need to be aware of symptoms of COVID-19 and inform their employer and seek medical advice if they think they have symptoms of the disease.

Maintaining physical distancing in retail food premises is critical for reducing the risk of transmission of the disease. Practical measures that may be used by retailers include the following:

• Regulating the numbers of customers who enter the retail store to avoid overcrowding
• Placing signs at entry points to request customers not to enter the shop if they are unwell or have COVID19 symptoms
• Managing queue control consistent with physical distancing advice both inside and outside stores
• Providing hand sanitizers, spray disinfectants, and disposable paper towels at store entry points
• Using floor markings inside the retail store to facilitate compliance with the physical distancing, particularly in the most crowded areas, such as serving counters and tills
• Making regular announcements to remind customers to follow physical distancing advice and clean their hands regularly
• Introducing plexiglass barriers at tills and counters as an additional level of protection for staff
• Encouraging the use of contactless payments
• As consumers increasingly bring their own shopping bags, advice to consumers to clean their shopping bags before every use shall be posted in the food retail premises (shops, outlets, supermarkets).
• Minimise the risk of transmitting COVID-19 by identifying high touch points in the retail premises and ensuring these are cleaned and disinfected regularly. Examples of high touch points are shopping trolleys, door handles, and weighing scales for customer use. Actions to be taken include:
• Providing wipes (or other forms of sanitisation) for customers to clean the handles of shopping trollies and baskets; or assigning staff to disinfect handles of shopping trollies after each use
• Washing and frequent sanitizing items such as ladles, tongs, and condiment holders
• Keeping doors open where possible to minimise contact.

Open food display in retail premises

Although some consumers perceive there is a risk of COVID19 infection resulting from open food displays, there is currently no scientific evidence suggesting that food is associated with transmission of the COVID-19 virus. However, the following precautions can be taken

• Maintain good hygiene practices around open food displays, such as salad bars, fresh produce displays, and bakery products.
• Advise consumers to wash fruit and vegetables with potable water before consumption

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 sanitizing of all food contact surfaces and utensils;
• Require food service workers to frequently wash hands, and, if using gloves, these must be changed before and after preparing food
• Require food service workers to frequently clean and sanitise counters, serving utensils and condiment containers
• Make available hand sanitizer for consumers on their way in and out of the food premises
• 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.

Staff canteens

Workplace canteens for those working in essential services, such as food processing and food retailing, need to remain open especially if there are no alternatives for staff to obtain food. However, public health measures for handwashing and respiratory etiquette need to be maintained at work canteens.

Operational standards staff canteens should include:

• Maintaining a physical distance of at least 1 metre between an individual and other worker, including in seating arrangements
• Staggering staff work and break times to reduce staff numbers in a canteen at any one time
• Restricting non-essential physical contact as much as possible
• Visible notices for staff promoting hand hygiene and physical distancing
• Cleaning and disinfection procedures for equipment, premises, contact surfaces/ high touch points, e.g. counter tops/tongs/service utensils/open self-service displays/door handles.

Source: WHO