Agencies Are Conducting Intensive COVID-19 Inspections

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Federal and state agencies have begun teaming up and are starting to conduct intensive COVID-19 inspections at food facilities. The inspections include state health, CDC, and OSHA inspectors who are following a very detailed checklist for employee protections. Inspections may last the better part of the day. The checklist appears to be heavily based on CDC’s Meat and Poultry Interim Guidance with some additions from OSHA’s workplace guidance.

 

The checklist is very comparable to the recommendations TAG has included in its COVID-19 Toolkit (request Toolkit information here) with few exceptions – which we are now adding. Some of these include recommendations for facilities to:

• Have employee monitors to verify adherence to physical distancing.

• Cohort workers – e.g., keeping individuals within groups to prevent crossover as much as possible and limit potential spread of an asymptomatic or positive employee.  

• Prohibit personal fans as these will further spread droplets of infected employees.

 

Essentially, to be in compliance with the inspection checklist, you will need to be following all the recommendations of the TAG Toolkit and/or CDC and OSHA guidance. Contact TAG for assistance or Toolkit access.