Recommendations for

the Food Industry

Enhancing Cleaning and Sanitation to Mitigate COVID-19 Risk.

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Today’s recommendations continue the Back-to-Basics discussion. Today, we will continue our focus on the four basics of risk mitigation depicted in TAG’s COVID-19 Preventive Control Pyramid (below):

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1. Employee Wellness Checks

2. Social Distancing and Hygiene

3. Enhanced Cleaning and Disinfection

4. Non-medical masks

 

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Today, we zoom in on Cleaning and Sanitation. Although the CDC does not recommend additional disinfection at this time, enhanced cleaning and sanitation of common areas with increased frequency is critical to reduce the risk of surface (fomite) transmission of the virus.  Depending on the surface and environmental conditions, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can survive on surfaces between hours and days. Based on use, all high touchpoint areas in an office, restaurant, or manufacturing facility should be cleaned and disinfected frequently.

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To mitigate the COVID-19 risk through enhanced cleaning and sanitation, TAG recommends:

• Clean common areas (breakrooms, lunchrooms, bathrooms, meeting rooms, etc.) throughout an office or facility while using Proper PPE (gloves, disposable gowns [or equivalent protection] and goggles/face-shields):   

  • Before a shift change

  • Before and after breaks

  • Before and after meals

  • After a shift change

  • In vehicles, before and after switching drivers or passengers.

• Pay closest attention to areas of likely contamination and high touch surfaces. For example: toilets, bathroom floors and walls, doorknobs, sinks, taps, benches, handrails, phones, light switches, shared keyboards and touchscreens, forklift controls, hand tools, etc.

• EPA provides a list of Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (List N) and the Center for Biocides Chemistry provides a user-friendly list of products. Your first choice products should be wipes, ready-to-use (RTU) or dilutable products in spray bottles that appear on list. If available, wipes are the easiest to use.

• If products are not available, 0.1% household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solution, and/or 70% alcohol are effective at disinfecting surfaces. Be sure to wash, rinse, and sanitize any food contact surfaces that have been disinfected before allowing food on the surface.

• Use disposable cleaning equipment (e.g., disposable cloths and mop heads) and separate cloths for high-risk areas, e.g., toilets and bathrooms.

• If someone becomes sick at work, immediately clean their work area, all tools the employee may have been using, other items they may have touched, and all common areas in which they may have been.

Everyone should practice social distancing (more specifically, physical distancing), not only those who are ill or at higher-risk (e.g. older individuals, pre-existing conditions) but also among healthy individuals so we may "flatten the curve".

 

Please feel free to use this free poster at your establishment. Please email us (info@achesongroup.com) for a copy of this poster (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Chinese - simplified, traditional are available).