admin
New Delhi, September 02, 2020 :
The main priority is to keep the virus out of the food environment. Several key measures are required including upgrading of cleaning and sanitation measures, disinfecting surfaces and high-touch points, educating staff on the virus and how to protect themselves and others, reinforcing protocols such as physical distancing, hand washing, and improved security with people staying in their vehicles/sanitizing hands when handing out documents and other material.
Q) Should grocery store workers wear gloves?
Disposable Gloves
Gloves may be used by food workers but must be changed frequently and hands must be washed between glove changes and when gloves are removed. Gloves must be changed after carrying out non-food related activities such as opening/closing doors by hand, and emptying bins. Food workers should be aware that wearing gloves can allow bacteria to build up on the surface of the hands, so hand washing is extremely important when gloves are removed to avoid subsequent contamination of food. Food workers should not touch their mouth, nose and eyes when wearing gloves.
Disposable gloves can give a false sense of safety and should not be used in the food work environment as a substitute for hand washing. The COVID-19 virus can contaminate disposable gloves in the same way it can get onto workers hands and contact surfaces. Removal of disposable gloves can lead to contamination of hands. Wearing disposable gloves can give you a false sense of security and may result in staff not washing hands as frequently as required.
Handwashing is a greater protective barrier to infection than wearing of disposable gloves. Food businesses need to ensure adequate sanitary facilities are provided and ensure food workers thoroughly and frequently wash their hands. Soap and water is adequate for hand washing. Hand sanitisers can be used as an additional measure but should not replace hand washing.
Wearing of Face Masks
WHO advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19 should be followed. Face Masks do not have to be routinely used by food workers to protect against transmission of COVID-19. However, for some food processing activities, such as working in abattoirs or handling cooked, ready-to-eat foods, wearing face masks is a usual practice.
WHO recommends that face masks should be used if a person is sick with symptoms of COVID-19 (especially coughing) or looking after someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
However, a food worker who is sick or who has symptoms of COVID-19 should not be allowed to work in grocery stores or other food businesses and should be excluded from work until free of symptoms or deemed fit for work by a medical doctor.
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