The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has published guidelines for food businesses to follow in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
These guidelines aim at guiding food businesses, including their personnel involved in handling of food and otherwise in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the work environment and any incidental contamination of food/food packages.
Key Highlights:
1. Responsibility of Food Business Operator/Manager – This includes practices such as screening all personnel entering the premise, mandatory hand hygiene (sanitiser dispenser) for employees/ customers/visitors, encouraging self-declaration of symptoms amongst employees, Regular monitoring of the employees.
2. Personal Hygiene of Food Handlers – Food Business shall ensure that their hygiene standards are in line with established Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS). Proper hand hygiene, frequent use of alcohol-based sanitizers, good respiratory hygiene, frequent cleaning/disinfection of work surfaces and surfaces touched frequently, use of gloves, masks/ face covers are emphasized among other instructions.
Proper disposal of masks and gloves and any other form of PPE is also instructed.
3. Practice Social Distancing – To ensure social distancing, FBOs must take measures such as limiting the number of people on a production floor or a kitchen or a shop, use spacing measures at tills or queues, space out/stagger workstations/food preparation areas, seating areas and reducing the speed of production lines to ensure two meters gap between food handlers, use physical barriers, prohibit sharing of lockers by employees, encourage takeaways, etc.
4. Cleaning and Sanitation – Food premise shall be always well maintained and cleaned thoroughly and sanitized daily. Cleaning and sanitation requirements mentioned in Schedule 4 of FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011 (“Schedule 4”) must be strictly followed. Various areas of Food Establishment, office space, transport vehicle must be cleaned with soap and water, followed by disinfection. High touch points must be cleaned twice daily. Toilets and Washrooms shall be cleaned after every shift using water and detergent.
The Annexure to the Guidance Note also has instructions on preparation of disinfectants.
5. Special Instructions for following food sectors:
a. Food Service/Delivery/Takeaways
b. Food Retail
c. Food Transportation or distribution
6. Food Packaging- Food businesses are required to ensure that food handlers involved in food packaging maintain a high level of personal hygiene, social distancing and implement GHPs as per Schedule 4. All measures shall be adopted to ensure that food packaging is kept clean and away from sources of contamination.
7. Guidelines for customers is also detailed out.
8. The Guidance Note also lists out the following specific practices:
a) guidelines to be followed by the management of food establishment on identification of COVID-19 positive case;
b) guidelines for cleaning and disinfection of premise accessed by COVID-19 positive person; and
c) guidelines for Food Handled by COVID-19 suspect or positive employee.
The practices outlined in the guidelines are to be adopted in conjugation with Schedule 4 requirements.
Source: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
