While the threat of coronavirus in our area remains low, we are still taking many precautions to assure our products and employees remain safe. We are an SQF Level III facility, the highest certification a food processor can have. That said, we already have a number of policies in place to assure we are putting out the safest food possible. In our latest third-party inspection, we scored a 98% – close to perfect. As that score shows, we take our food safety program very seriously.
We have a food safety expert on staff every day who is observing all employees and making sure nobody showing any signs of illness is permitted in our building. We have instituted a no visitor policy in our offices and warehouse facilities until further notice.
Our Good Manufacturing Policies (GMPs) are our first line of defense for preventing the spread of bad bugs to the food we process and from person-to-person.
These GMPs include:
HAND WASHING
PREVENTION OF CROSS-CONTAMINATION
MAINTENANCE OF HAND-WASHING AND TOILET FACILITIES
PEST CONTROL
EMPLOYEE HEALTH CONDITIONS
LABELING
PROTECTION FROM ADULTERANTS
The biggest thing we can all do to prevent our staff and our customers from being sick is proper and thorough hand washing. Using hand sanitizer is not a substitute for hand washing, just an additional kill step for bacteria.
RESOURCES
Food & Drug Administration (FDA) COVID-19 Supply Chain Updatehttps://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-supply-chain-update.
National Restaurant Association (NRA) latest information.https://www.restaurant.org/Manage-My-Restaurant/Business-Operations/preparedness/Covid19?utm_source=mkto&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=corona-webinar-0305&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTm1ZNE1UWXpZV1prTnpVeSIsInQiOiJEOXZXMjF3WXE5UlRYeTgxVm4weUY4R3pWM1JyS2l1Y1c5eTRFK2FNNXF3aUhqTHNnTmpLWThNUFFVeDJMZU9SY1JMbm10TFZDckdjZ2tmRWFTSFl4TG54bXVhVGN1TU1uTVVYM3NrMmpBTXYzbURPRkxxT0RoMGVsWFRuMzlId
Serve Safe COVID-19 Tiphttps://mcusercontent.com/534e3962474bc36ddf4504012/files/9a124e3c-5afb-4a2a-a77e-7b3a76f878f6/Coronavirus_2019_nCoV_Info_TipsforRestaurants.pdfs for Restaurants
World Health Organization (WHO) Workphttps://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/getting-workplace-ready-for-covid-19.pdflace Readiness information.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 latest information. https://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus/coronavirus-2020.html#tabz
WORKPLACE GENERAL PREVENTION
1. Place posters at entrance and around the workplace encouraging employees to:
- Stay home if they are sick, or may be sick (especially if experiencing fever, cough, or shortness of breath).
- Engage in appropriate cough and sneeze etiquette.
- Maintain hand hygiene.
2. Employees who appear to have symptoms of
respiratory illness (including cough or shortness of breath) should be
separated from other employees and be sent home immediately.
3. Employees should remain home until they are free of a fever, or
symptoms of a fever, for at least 24 hours without the use of medication
(including over the counter treatments).
4. Be flexible about work-from-home policies for any employees who are
sick or who are staying home to care for a sick family member.
HOW COVID-19 IS IMPACTING OUR INDUSTRY
BOSTON SEAFOOD SHOW CANCELED FOR FIRST TIME EVER
The 40th annual International Boston Seafood Show, scheduled for next weekend (3/15-3/17), has been canceled. Faced with the prospect of no one showing up and vendors pulling out daily, organizers canceled the event. They say they are trying to reschedule later this year but that seems doubtful.
SHIPPING FISH VIA AIRFREIGHT BECOMING A MAJOR PROBLEM
As we “distance ourselves socially”, that means fewer people flying which means fewer planes in the air which means less air cargo space. Most of our overseas shipments are getting “bumped” at least once. We wouldn’t call it a crisis yet, but it could become one…stay tuned.
If you have any questions or concerns about your Seafood, please contact your sales representative.
