As the international community continues to be preoccupied with pushing back the scourge of the dreaded COVID-19 global pandemic, the local food service industry could be a critical cog in the wheel of limiting the further spread of the virus locally, Director of the Government Analyst-Food & Drugs Department (GA-FDD) Dr Marlon Cole, told the Stabroek Business earlier this week. “From everything that we know it is not unlikely that establishments in the food service industry may well share a considerable responsibility in the broader national fight against the pandemic, given what we are told is the likely nexus between contact surfaces and the spread of the virus.
According to Cole, persistent public health warnings regarding a likely link between contact surfaces and the possible spread of the virus cannot rule out the connection between the processes and procedures associated with the preparation and processing of foods. “Some of the circumstances under which, we are told, the virus can be spread… relate to contact surfaces and these may well be applied in the food service industry. This is not an alarm bell. It is an awareness raiser. What this means is that we need to look to our Food Handlers to help lead the way given the situation in which we all find ourselves,” Cole said.
