UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As it has become clear that COVID-19 will be present at some level in the United States for a long time, food processing establishments — facilities that process, pack or hold food for human consumption — have put into place controls to minimize the risk of the disease among their personnel.
“With the danger of the novel coronavirus upon us, food establishments have been implementing controls that help minimize the risk of COVID-19 among their personnel and the local populace,” said Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
Because the coronavirus is highly contagious, preventing the spread of COVID-19 is a challenge for food processors, Bucknavage noted. When an employee who has COVID-19 coughs or exhales, he or she releases droplets of infected fluid. Most of these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects — such as desks, tables or telephones. Co-workers can catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
If an employee is standing within 6 feet of another who has COVID-19, he or she can catch the disease by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by the infected employee.
“To this point, food processing operations mostly have been successful in avoiding shutdowns due to ill workers,” said Bucknavage. “Acting on recommendations — based on guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration —will go a long way to ensuring an adequate food supply at the grocery stores.”
Bucknavage said the following recommendations pertain to any facility that is processing, packing or holding food for human consumption. This includes both U.S. Department of Agriculture-regulated facilities that process meat and poultry and U.S. Food and Drug Administration-regulated facilities that process food.
Enhanced sanitary environment
— Promote regular and thorough handwashing by employees, contractors and customers. Provide soap and water and alcohol-based hand rubs in the workplace. Ensure that adequate supplies are maintained. Place hand rubs in multiple locations or in conference rooms to encourage hand hygiene.
— Routinely clean all frequently touched surfaces in the workplace, such as workstations, countertops and doorknobs. Use the cleaning agents that usually are used in these areas, and follow the directions on the label.
— Provide disposable wipes so that commonly used surfaces such as doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls and desks, can be wiped down by employees before each use.
Employee training
— Emphasize staying home when sick.
— Instruct employees to clean their hands often with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol alcohol, and encourage hand washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.
— Practice proper coughing and sneezing etiquette, including covering one’s mouth and nose with a tissue and disposing of the used tissue in a wastebasket; coughing or sneezing into your upper sleeve, not your hands; and remembering to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing. CDC also recommends that food workers use face coverings to restrict aerosols.
— Employees who are well but have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and refer to CDC guidance about how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure.
— Emphasize the need for as much social distancing as possible for a given operation. Social distancing means keeping the recommended distance of at least 6 feet between individuals — that’s two to three arm-lengths — and must become standard practice.