What to Do If a Food Industry Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19
March 26, 2020 The United Fresh Produce Association continues to update the industry, which includes greenhouse vegetable growers, on how to keep their businesses moving forward during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, Jennifer McEntire, Vice President of Food Safety and Technology at United Fresh, joined with several colleagues in the food industry to develop a guide for food chain employers on what to do when an employee or contract worker tests positive for COVID-19.
“We anticipate that the ‘Food Industry Recommended Protocol When Employee/Customer Tests Positive for COVID-19’ will be posted soon on the FDA website; so please refer all employers, local, and state officials to this source,” says Tom Stenzel, President and CEO of United Fresh.
United Fresh also participated in a conference call with the White House on March 23, again emphasizing the need for the federal government to communicate that food industry employees and contractors are part of the nation’s essential health infrastructure, and should not be restricted from doing their work.
“Our employees can be confused by conflicting local messaging about stay-at-home orders, when they want to be working to keep the supply chain moving,” Stenzel says.
United Fresh also continues to urge FDA to communicate out their guidance that food or food packaging does note transmit the coronavirus.
“There is misleading information about this in the media and even in some government statements,” Stenzel says. “Please make sure to share the most recent FDA Food-Safety/COVID-19 Guidance on this issue when you see false information. Consumers should not be advised to wash fruits and vegetables with soap.”
Here’s some closing thoughts from Stenzel that convey the magnitude of what the industry is facing:
“It’s unfathomable to be shifting as much as 40% to 50% of the food supply from the foodservice channel to retail outlets. And that’s in the midst of a crisis that is telling people to stay home, shutting institutions that facilitate our supply chain, and ignoring that the very companies essential to putting food on the table are bleeding cash needed to stay in business.”
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