COVID-19 Best Practices

Best Practices for Retail Food Stores, Restaurants, and Food Pick-Up/Delivery Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic

FDA is sharing information about best practices to operate retail food stores, restaurants, and associated pick-up and delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic to safeguard workers and consumers.

This addresses key considerations for how foods offered at retail can be safely handled and delivered to the public, as well as key best practices for employee health, cleaning and sanitizing, and personal protective equipment (PPE). This is not a comprehensive list.

Managing Employee Health

  • Instruct employees with symptoms associated with COVID-19 to report them to their supervisors. Instruct sick employees to stay home and follow the CDC’s guidelines or consult with the local health department for additional guidance.
  • If an employee is sick at work, send them home immediately. Clean and disinfect surfaces in their workspace. Others at the facility with close contact (for example, within 6 feet) of the employee during this time should be considered exposed.
  • Instruct employees who are well, but know they have been exposed to COVID-19, to notify their supervisor and follow CDC recommended precautions.
  • Inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, if an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19, while maintaining confidentiality.

 

Implement workplace controls to reduce transmission among employees:

Employers – Prescreen (for example, take temperature and assess symptoms prior to starting work).

Employers – Disinfect and clean work spaces and equipment, and consider more frequent cleaning of high touch surfaces.

Employees – Regularly self – monitor (for example take temperature and assess symptoms of coronavirus).

Employees – Wear a mask or face covering.

Employees – Practice social distancing and stay at least 6 feet from other people whenever possible.

 

Personal Hygiene for Employees

  • Emphasize effective hand hygiene including washing hands for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
  • Always wash hands with soap and water. If soap and water are not readily available, then use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol and avoid working with unwrapped or exposed foods.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
  • Use gloves to avoid direct bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
  • Before preparing or eating food, always wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds for general food safety.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash hands after.

 

Managing Operations in a Foodservice Establishment or Retail Food Store

Continue to follow established food safety protocols and best practices for retail food establishments and important COVID-19 recommendations, including the following:

  • Follow the 4 key steps to food safety: Always – Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.
  • Wash, rinse, and sanitize food contact surfaces, dishware, utensils, food preparation surfaces, and beverage equipment after use.
  • Frequently disinfect surfaces repeatedly touched by employees or customers such as doorknobs, equipment handles, check-out counters, and grocery cart handles, etc.
  • Frequently clean and disinfect floors, counters, and other facility access areas using EPA-registered disinfectants.
  • Prepare and use sanitizers according to label instructions.

 

When changing your normal food preparation procedures, service, delivery functions, or making staffing changes, apply procedures that ensure:

  • Cooked foods reach the proper internal temperatures prior to service or cooling.
  • Hot foods are cooled rapidly and correctly for later use—check temperatures of food being cooled in refrigerators or by rapid cooling techniques such as ice baths and cooling wands.
  • The time foods being stored, displayed, or delivered are held in the temperature danger zone (between 41℉ and 135℉) is minimized.

 

Help customers maintain good infection control and social distancing by:

  • Discontinuing operations, such as salad bars, buffets, and beverage service stations that require customers to use common utensils or dispensers.
  • Finding ways to encourage spacing between customers while in line for service or check out in accordance with the applicable state or local requirements.
  • Discouraging customers from bringing pets—except service animals—into stores or waiting areas.
  • Continue to use sanitizers and disinfectants for their designed purposes.
  • Verify that your ware - washing machines are operating at the required wash and rinse temperatures and with the appropriate sanitizers and detergents.
  • Remember that hot water can be used in place of chemicals to sanitize equipment and utensils in manual ware – washing machines.
  • If you donate food to food recovery or charitable organizations, check for state and local guidelines. Communicate also with the charitable organization for their guidelines for donating food.

 

Managing Food Pick-up and Delivery

  • Observe established food safety practices for time/temperature control, preventing cross-contamination, cleaning hands, no sick workers, and storage of food, etc. 
  • Have employees wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, after blowing their nose, coughing or sneezing, or after touching high touch surfaces, for example doorknobs, and doorbells.
  • If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
  • Increase the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting of high – touch surfaces such as countertops and touchpads and within the vehicle, by wiping down surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
  • Make sure to read the label and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on use.
  • Establish designated pick – up zones for customers to help maintain social distancing,
  • Practice social distancing when delivering food, for example, offering “no-touch” deliveries and sending text alerts or calling when deliveries have arrived.
  • Conduct an evaluation of your facility to identify and apply operational changes in order to maintain social distances if offering take – out/ carry – out option by maintaining a 6 – foot distance from others, when possible.
  • Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold by storing in appropriate transport vessels.
  • Keep cold foods cold by keeping enough coolant materials. Hot foods hot by ensuring insulated cases are properly functioning.
  • Keep foods separated to avoid cross contamination, for example, keeping raw foods separated from cooked and ready - to- eat foods.
  • Ensure that any wrapping and packaging used for food transport is done so that contamination of the food is prevented.
  • Routinely clean and sanitize coolers and insulated bags used to deliver foods.

 

Please comply with state and local guidelines also regarding food safety and COVID-19.

For more information and updates, visit the sites below which provides additional information as needed.

 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/foodsafety,  https://www.fda.gov/coronavirus