Position Statement

CORONA VIRUS – COVID-19

We at Taiko Foods consider the health and safety of all our customers and employees as our utmost priority. Thus, Taiko Foods Ltd has taken proactive steps to prevent the spread of Corona Virus /COVID—19 and make sure our processes are continuously carried out in a safe operational environment.

Our crisis management team is meeting on a regular basis to discuss all significant risks to protect the manufacturing processes, personnel, and customers from the potential spread of Covid-19. We reviewed the advice from the department of health and social care, and public health England, the US centers for disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO).

Risk Assessment:

There is yet, no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted by food. We have conducted the full risk assessment on personal and our manufacturing processes and implemented the required preventive actions.

All personal, contractors enter our factory, and offices are monitored for their body temperature and only allowed upon the satisfactory readings and completing the screening procedure. We have provided our staff with information regarding the actions to take to avoid infection such as hand washing and sanitising using alcohol contain sanitisers etc. The factory undergoes rigorous deep cleaning process as per the standard guidelines including a thorough disinfection process of common surface areas such as tables, computers, staircases, handrails. Additional sanitizing stations were installed in the entrances and offices in all buildings.

The air filtration systems in our high care factory where we handle the food are equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters and F7 filters. Constant airflow also ensures that the factory is refreshed every few minutes and free from airborne pollution.

Employees:

All work trips to category 1 & 2 destinations as outlined on the public health website are now cancelled. Staff who visited category 2 area were asked to self-quarantine for 7 days even for the mildest symptoms. We have provided a refresher training and discussed all important details regarding COVID-19. Memos sent to all employees regarding COVID -19 and advice on how to prevent this infection. Signage with reminders on how to reduce the spread of disease will be prominently displayed throughout the factory. We have been in continuous dialogue with our staff to report any illness of themselves or their close family members. Further, our employees have also been informed to seek immediate medical attention if they feel unwell and should not report for work if they deem unfit. Return to forms are completed by the department managers for all staff after vacation and their sick leave. SARS-Cov-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, may survive on surfaces up to 9 days. We have implemented procedures to decontaminate the areas if any of our staff work in the area were found to be diagnosed with COVID-19.

We have communicated with our suppliers and sub-contractors to provide their position statement regarding their actions against COVID-19. Customers and Contractors and visitors: The entry to the factory and offices are allowed based on the Taiko health questionnaire results and will avoid visits and contracts jobs which can be avoided during this period.