Demand for food has risen during the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of producers and processors.
This means the food sector needs a continuity plan response to stabilise food supply during and after the pandemic.
It is important that food supply is less destabilised. Stakeholders in the food sector, from farmers to processors, have an important role to play.
They, therefore, must work on ways to stabilise the food supply chains even as restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19 remain in force.
Below is an outline of possible responses to the pandemic by food processors to ensure continuity of supply and to curb the spread of the disease.
Labour is one of the most important aspects for all food-sector players. Infected employees mean reduced productivity and rejection of products for fear of contamination.
Even worse, price surges are possible in food scarcity periods. Ensuring safety of the staff, therefore, should be a primary concern for food producers, transporters, processors, traders and distributors.
For large-scale operators, observe the following:
• Ensure workers follow all the basic hygiene practices all through.
Manufacturers should ensure elimination of any possible threat by keeping the production area as safe as possible. Staff can reduce risks at the raw material reception section by:
• Putting on full-face masks and even full suits where necessary.
Strict measures should be taken between reception and production area so that no threat is transferred to the latter. Measures that should be taken include:
• Creating barriers between raw material reception platforms and production areas.
This is important to reduce the risk of product contamination, before reaching consumers and to help loaders reduce time taken to unload products at different points.
• Designing or upgrading food packaging materials – where necessary – to protect products from contamination.
The writer is based at the Department of Dairy and Food Science and Technology, Egerton University.
