FSA publishes guidance for firms planning re-opening
The Food Standards Agency has published guidance on how to adapt food manufacturing operations and work safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It says that while this guidance is more geared towards those who have closed and are looking to reopen, firms still operating may also want to review it.
This guidance is to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely in the food manufacturing sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The guidance covers a range of areas, including:
- Risk assessment and review
- Managing stock levels
- Machinery
- Staff training
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Face coverings
- Social distancing
The guidance can be read in full on the FSA’s website here.
In addition to this, the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has unveiled updated best practice guidelines to help protect workers at meat processing plants in the UK from Covid-19.
“We have encouraged all our members to adopt those guidelines, which we constantly look to update and improve, so that plants can ensure the safety of their staff and make them feel comfortable and confident about the workplace.”
The BMPA said: “Social distancing in a food production environment can be challenging at times, but the BMPA’s Best Practice Guidelines demonstrate that there is much that can be done. Indeed, many of the standards and practices that British meat companies already comply with are in place to ensure scrupulous food safety and hygiene; our industry is used to applying these kinds of rules and is well placed to adapt to the new coronavirus measures.
“To date the British meat supply chain has been working well with a low number of incidents and low absenteeism. The industry in the UK is coping with the crisis much better than in some other countries and, as a result, has been able to keep things running relatively smoothly.
“We have encouraged all our members to adopt those guidelines, which we constantly look to update and improve, so that plants can ensure the safety of their staff and make them feel comfortable and confident about the workplace.
“BMPA has also been assisting members to register for testing their workers and, while the testing system is improving daily, it is still a work in progress and isn’t always functioning as one would hope.”
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