As the international community continues to be preoccupied with pushing back the scourge of the dreaded COVID-19 global pandemic, the local food service industry could be a critical cog in the wheel of limiting the further spread of the virus locally, Director of the Government Analyst-Food & Drugs Department (GA-FDD) Dr Marlon Cole, told the Stabroek Business earlier this week. “From everything that we know it is not unlikely that establishments in the food service industry may well share a considerable responsibility in the broader national fight against the pandemic, given what we are told is the likely nexus between contact surfaces and the spread of the virus.
According to Cole, persistent public health warnings regarding a likely link between contact surfaces and the possible spread of the virus cannot rule out the connection between the processes and procedures associated with the preparation and processing of foods. “Some of the circumstances under which, we are told, the virus can be spread… relate to contact surfaces and these may well be applied in the food service industry. This is not an alarm bell. It is an awareness raiser. What this means is that we need to look to our Food Handlers to help lead the way given the situation in which we all find ourselves,” Cole said.
Asked whether his department was satisfied that local food handlers were mindful of the protocols associated with providing service in the sector, Cole said that given the continual entry of new players into the sector it was necessary for the oversight bodies to apply constant monitoring. He explained that while “a heartening number of food vendors had responded encouragingly to official appeals for them to raise their game, I cannot say in all honesty that there is a sector-wide adherence to the procedures and protocols associated with food handling and food vending, This is the kind of situation that requires constant monitoring and constant reminders to the handlers and vendors,” Cole said.
According to Cole “there are risks that arise in situations where Food Handlers may be untrained or simply non-compliant. There are instances in which people simply cut corners and, yes, these are matters of concern to us. Contact surfaces are associated with food preparation and storage as well as with the sale of cooked food. In addition to those considerations there is also the fact that because they may be untrained many of our Food Handlers are unaware of the safe and correct manner in handling food. This applies especially at the street-road vending level and at some food-service restaurants,” the GA-FDD Director said.
And while Cole told Stabroek Business that the Department was mindful of not targeting the food vending industry, as a whole, “since there are also some non-compliant restaurants,” the GA-FDD cannot afford to spare itself the responsibility of “taking a candid look at the food service industry as a whole, at this time. Some people may think that these observations are in fact a stigmatising of the Industry. Nothing could be further from the truth. We fully recognize the livelihood-related significance of the sector but as a country we are in a situation in which we have to call a spade a spade. As an agency charged with regulating the behaviour in public health-related sectors we have to look at these things candidly” Cole said.
The GA-FDD, according to Cole, is working collaboratively with the Environmental Health Unit (EHU) of the Ministry of Public Health and the National Food Safety and Control Committee (NFCC) in an effort to learn more about COVID-19 and how the virus may be spread through contact surfaces.
And according to Cole, at a time when, both locally and globally, high priority is being placed on food safety, it was timely to remind the food service sector of some of the critical rules for operating therein, including the need for Handlers and Vendors to be properly trained in basic food hygiene and for them to possess valid Food Handlers Certificates and ID Cards. “Given the circumstances in which we find ourselves there can be no good excuse for violations of these basic rules,” he added.
Cole said, meanwhile, that he believed that this was the opportune time to remind food vendors of the procedures associated with the processing, storage and display of food being vended. He said that setting aside the mandatory and appropriate food warmers, food vendors ought to have at their immediate disposal adequate supplies of potable water and suitably covered garbage disposal bins. “These are current basic requirements which, frankly, are not always stringently enforced. These are areas in which we can and must do better,” he added.
Just recently, Research Gate, the European commercial networking site for scientists and researchers to share perspectives on science-related issues, asserted that the food sector is susceptible and substantially harmed by the influence of the intensive effects of the coronavirus, pointing out that limiting “the spread of coronavirus at food services … has become a challenge where delicate and fresh food items are served and delivered to the customers, only after having passed through a series of operational steps from order taking, food receiving, preparation of food, packing, delivery to customers.
“At each step, there is a possibility of food handlers to touch the food surface or food directly and if the food handler is not following appropriate precautionary measures then it can be a possible source of coronavirus spread.” It adds that while there is no evidence that food is a coronavirus transmission route, it is possible that “during the food operations, improper sanitization and disinfection of key touch points, food contact, nonfood contact, equipment and cleaning tools surfaces, and close contact of food handlers with staff and customers not only can put themselves on risk but can also be a risk for customers. Food services and the retail sector should make sure proper hand hygiene, approved sanitizers and disinfectants in use, follow social distances at workstations and while interacting with the customers. Finally, the business should be vigilant to monitor the temperature of staff and incoming guests to identify if there may any sick person to avoid from further spread of coronavirus and shall report to concerned health authorities if anyone’s symptoms match with COVID-19.”
