Covid 19, guidelines for the revival of restaurants and bars through food delivery

Guidelines for food delivery of bars and restaurants during #Covid 19. The Veterinary Service for Hygiene of Food of Animal Origin and their Derivatives (SVIA) of USSL 7 Pedemontana provides the technical basis for the revival of restaurants and bars through  food delivery.

A procedure logical and simple, which every public operator can adapt to the characteristics of their own system, print and apply scrupulously. But also a model to adapt and apply in every productive and service supply context, in that logic of  continuity management called for by social partners in Italy under the Protocol 14.3.20. (1)

Remote catering

Remote catering – that is home delivery of food – is the only activity effectively allowed for public establishments (e.g. bars, taverns, restaurants,  fast-food), following the DPCM 11.3.20, so-called decree #StayHome.
It is however necessary to adapt self-control procedures, considering several aspects:

– activities not foreseen in almost all hygienic-sanitary self-control plans of public establishments (packaging and delivery of food),

– risks of transmission of the coronavirus among workers and between them and other subjects (suppliers, carriers, couriers, customers),

– need to guarantee the delivery of food and dishes  virus-free.

The  vademecum 

The  vademecum  (downloadable here) – prepared by Fabrizio De Stefani, Director of the veterinary service for food hygiene of the ULSS N. 7 Pedemontana Company – and Andrea Gazzetta, veterinary manager in the same Venetian structure – is framed within the context of the self-monitoring procedures that affect all operators in the agri-food, feed, and MOCA (Materials and Objects in Contact with Food) supply chains.

The GHP procedures (Good Hygienic Practices) e HACCP adopted by each operator – within the aforementioned supply chains as well as in other sectors, with case-specific features (e.g., GAP, GMP, ISO-based quality management systems) – must in fact be adapted to the specific microbiological risk (SARS-CoV-2, which emerged with the Covid-19 pandemic). In line with the requirements established in  General Food Law (Reg. EC 178/02) and Hygiene Package (Reg. EC 852/04 and subsequent).

The working method proposed in the vademecum under review – aimed at the ‘conversion’ of collective catering to the new scenario imposed by coronavirus containment measures – should therefore be followed by the representatives of various sectors and compartments, both in Italy and in every other country. To offer useful guidelines to their members on how to update self-monitoring plans, considering their respective specificities. (2)

Risk analysis and integrated supply chain responsibility

Attention  must be dedicated to every activity, with an approach based on:

– risk analysis, according to the HACCP logic,

– integrated supply chain responsibility.

Covid-19 has a potential impact both on product safety (particularly regarding fresh and raw foods) and processes, as well as on the health of workers and all those interacting with the organization (premises and people). This includes suppliers and logistics operators (storage, transport), visitors, and customers.

The responsibility of operators – in catering, as in other supply chain areas – is based on compliance with good hygienic practices. These must however be strengthened, with special regard to the hygienic precautions and containment measures adopted to tackle the COVID-19 emergency, according to the Decalogue of the Ministry of Health.

Anti-Covid hygiene recommendations

The hygiene recommendations to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus, it is emphasized, are primarily based on:

– safety distances  interpersonal, to always and in any case respect,

– frequent hand sanitization, with water or alcohol-based solutions/gels. (4) Absolutely avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth unless immediately after sanitizing your hands. Always cover nose and mouth with disposable tissues or the crease of the elbow when sneezing or coughing,

– frequent sanitization of surfaces, tools and work objects,  cell phones and other devices.

Anyone must avoid going out and going to work in case of flu symptoms or contact (or cohabitation) with people positive for COVID-19. #StayAtHome, whenever there is a risk of spreading the contagion (!).

Specific recommendations for workplaces

The environments and work tools must be disinfected, aired, and sanitized at the beginning and end of each shift. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE, e.g. masks, gloves) and prudent behaviors must also be adopted to prevent physical contact of the virus with objects, food, surfaces, and other people.

Personnel management, must follow the essential criteria that follow:

– training and awareness  to the due respect of hygienic precautions, also through informative signs in the most frequented workplaces,

– provision of suitable PPE, such as masks and gloves, disposable suits/coats/aprons, overshoes. (5) With particular attention where it is not possible to continuously guarantee an adequate distance between workers, which remains essential to minimize possible contacts along the production line, (2)

– reduce the number of workers simultaneously present in the plant, modifying shifts and avoiding close interpersonal contacts in changing rooms and break areas,

– encourage the use of disposable dishes and cutlery in canteens, favoring pre-packaged portions, (6)

– arrange the use of the company fleet under safe conditions, for possible business trips.

Access to premises  must be limited as much as possible and controlled. Therefore:

– avoid as much as possible the entry of visitors, suppliers, clients,  etc. Or at least

– establish time slots for the access of external suppliers. Conditions, information, methods and times, routes (and reserved bathrooms) must be predefined in order to minimize contact opportunities with staff. Workers, visitors, contractors, transporters who have not complied with containment measures are responsible, even criminally, for their behaviors,

– limit drivers from getting off the vehicles. Where this is not possible, provide them with hand sanitizers and PPE (masks, gloves),

– transmit transport documentation electronically.

Food management

Managers and self-control officers must strictly follow the hygienic practices described below:

– cooked/raw. Constant separation of cooked foods from raw ones (from storage to preparation, until packaging for delivery),

– temperatures for storing food, to be observed also during storage and transportation phases,

– utensils. Always keep separate utensils used for raw foods, to be disinfected after use, from those used after cooking.

NB: coronaviruses are sensitive to high temperatures, being inactivated at 70° C. Reaching the core of the product therefore ensures food safety regarding the related microbiological risk.

Transport and  food delivery

Transport is a critical phase, as it can allow the development of pathogenic and/or spoilage microorganisms originating from raw materials and/or environmental cross-contaminations.

The delivery activity of foods prepared by restaurateurs, so-called  food delivery, in particular, is subject to specific recommendations:

– sanitization thorough of surfaces as well as hands,

– separation of premises intended for food pickup from those used for its preparation,

– use of appropriate containers or disposable bags in which to place food intended for home consumption with closure stickers, staples or others,

– use of thermal backpacks or containers for transport.

food delivery, labeling

A labeling model sticker – to be placed on the dish packaging or on a summary label on the outside of the bag and/or the  polibox dedicated for food delivery – is another pearl of wisdom offered in the guidelines under review. With the aim of providing the consumer with essential information:

– producer's name and telephone contact,

– recipient,

– list of number and type of products, with reference to maximum storage temperatures during transport and storage phases. (9)

Allergens  present in each dish, we add, must also be specified based on the provisions of regulation (EU) 1169/11.

The customer must then be informed of the necessity to receive the delivery person wearing a protective mask (and gloves, if possible), maintaining a safety distance of at least one meter. Even better, without opening the door, retrieve the package left on the landing after the courier has walked away. For this purpose, electronic payment is encouraged.

Precautions in premises open to the public

The measures of  lockdown, it is recalled, are not extended to catering businesses located in service areas on the margins of road and motorway networks (e.g. Autogrill), as well as inside stations (railway, airport, lake) and hospitals. These businesses must in turn adopt specific measures to prevent contagion. In particular:

– limit as much as possible the number of interpersonal contacts by limiting access and respecting safety distances (including between diners). This involves the proper spacing of tables and serving meals without self-service, preferring single portions,

– ensure compliance with hygiene measures, providing customers with hand disinfectant solutions. In addition to frequently disinfecting tables, chairs, counters, handles, restrooms, and other surfaces.

Privacy, personal and sensitive data

The employer, before accessing the workplace, may subject personnel to body temperature checks. They can also prohibit access to anyone with a temperature equal to or above 37.5° C. (7)

In presence of fever (>37.5° C) or other flu symptoms, the worker is obliged to stay at home and call their family doctor and health authorities.

The Guarantor  for the protection of personal data has clarified that:

– employers must refrain from systematically and generally collecting in advance information on any flu symptoms of the worker and their close contacts (or in any case outside the work sphere,

– workers are nonetheless required to report to the employer any situation of danger to health and safety in the workplace. (8)

Dario Dongo and Giulia Caddeo

Notes

(1)  Coronavirus, containment measures in workplaces. Protocol 14.3.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/coronavirus-misure-di-contenimento-negli-ambienti-di-lavoro-protocollo-14-3-20

Employer responsibilities On workers' health, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/coronavirus-misure-di-contenimento-negli-ambienti-di-lavoro-protocollo-14-3-20

(2) V. e.g. scheme  Covid-19 containment protocol, Confindustria Vicenza, Confindustria: Template company protocol for countering and containing Covid-19 spread

(2) Confindustria: Privacy Information Model – Anti-contagion Protocol Treatments

(3)  Responsibilities of food sector operators, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/sicurezza-alimentare-abc-responsabilità-operatori

ABC restaurant hygiene, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/igiene-nei-ristoranti-l-abc

(4)  It is necessary to wash hands  before and after every stage of food preparation and handling (as well as after managing cleaning and waste). Gloves must be changed after using the bathroom, blowing the nose (or sneezing or coughing). But also after eating, drinking or smoking, handling cash. Checks at the entrance of external persons and carriers

(5) NB: the use of surgical mask certified UNI EN 14683:2019 (Medical face masks – Requirements and test methods) offers the presumption of conformity to the general safety and performance requirements for kitchen staff or food handlers (Directive 93/42/EEC, Annex. Regulation (EU) 2017/745)

(6) preferably made with compostable materials derived from hemp, paper, and cardboard

(7) Shared protocol for regulating measures to counter and contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus in workplaces;

https://www.garanteprivacy.it/web/guest/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/9282117

(8)  Product type A: Finished cold products delivered under cold chain (T°

Product type B: Cooked, blast chilled products delivered under cold chain to be consumed after cooking and/or thermal regeneration

Product type C: Finished cooked products delivered under hot chain (T°>+60°C) to be consumed immediately.