The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Protection Agency, ADAFSA, has released a three-language guide on the required procedures and steps to plan, treat and distribute food protection during the COVID-19 crisis, in line with its efforts to improve societal understanding of best food safety practices.
The guide includes a comprehensive explanation of recommendations for food protection, precautionary steps, and effective hygiene standards to be followed by retail stores and restaurants to ensure food protection and protect public health.
Food Protection during Coronavirus
In this regard, Dr. Mohammed Salman Al Hammadi, Director of the Legislation Division of ADAFSA, said the guide provides important guidelines for food facilities on how to handle and deliver food products safely, and best hygiene practices in terms of cleaning, disinfecting and using personal protective equipment, to maintain the health of workers and consumers.
“It consists of five major parts focused on maintaining personal health for staff and customers, managing activities in retail outlets, food-related facilities and restaurants, managing the distribution of food orders and delivering meals, in addition to the portion containing customer guidance,” said Al Hammadi.
The guide had been issued in Arabic, English, and Urdu, according to Al Hammadi. It requires activities focused on the current research studies and recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) to counter COVID-19, maintaining the safety of food handlers and customers, as well as enhancing food safety standards in food establishments.
“The guide also provides a monitoring and management system for any case that indicates signs of COVID-19 in food employees, reminding facility managers of these signs. To ensure that they take the action.” He added.
Food Protection / Covid-19 relationship
Also, the guide highlights important information about the food / COVID-19 relationship. It’s providing evidence-based answers to multiple inquiries in this regard. It includes the most important guidelines and controls. By applying the food safety management system to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the facilities workers. This requires the sanitization and cleaning of workplaces, the regular monitoring of operations, the maintenance of social distance between workers, the use of personal protective equipment, the training and training of workers, and the modernization of work procedures. This will improve the quality and safety of food supplied to consumers.
In addition, the guide provides a set of instructions and recommendations. To ensure food safety while delivering, appropriate packages for food packaging and transport. Also, suitable vehicles intended for food delivery, ways to ensure the commitment of delivery workers to safety measures. Additionally, the most important measures to observe when deliveries to customers are through.
Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. ADAFSA has supported local, regional, and international food safety-related efforts by cooperating with INFOSAN, WHO, and FAO. Additionally, ADAFSA has issued a guidance document to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in the food business sector, also throughout food handling. It was going to all countries around the globe with the aim of raising awareness about practices. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 among food safety authorities, food handlers, and consumers.
