FDA issues new supermarket, food retail safety guidelines to protect workers, customers

Nearly one month after President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus a national emergency, and three weeks before he would like to reopen much of the country, the Food and Drug Administration has announced a comprehensive list of best practices to protect workers and consumers in the essential businesses that are feeding Americans during a pandemic when everyone is supposed to keep their distance.

Many of the guidelines reiterate practices that are already in place or considered a routine part of the food business - social distancing, no facial touching, standard food-safety procedures - but they also emphasize what companies should do to protect employees and maintain a safe workplace during the ongoing outbreak. The FDA suggests employers assess workers' health before they start a shift, including temperature checks. Employees should wear masks, maintain six feet of separation from co-workers and assess their own health throughout the day.

If an employee turns up sick at the workplace, the FDA is recommending protocols to try to prevent the spread of the virus and avoid what happened at a Smithfield Foods processing plant in South Dakota, which was shut down this week after 80 employees were confirmed to have the coronavirus. The agency's protocols include cleaning and disinfecting the work station of the infected employee; acknowledging that all employees within six feet of the infected worker have likely been exposed; and informing fellow employees of their possible exposure while maintaining confidentiality. Notably, the FDA's guidelines include contract workers, who are not considered formal employees, such as the drivers for food delivery companies.

The agency is recommending that employees wear gloves and masks at all times, while asking employers to discontinue "salad bars, buffets, and beverage service stations that require customers to use common utensils or dispensers." The FDA is also encouraging retail stores to figure out ways to maintain six feet of space between customers in checkout lines or while waiting on a service.

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Yet because the FDA's authority is limited to food safety, the agency cannot require that restaurants, retail stores and other shops limit the number of customers who enter their establishments. These requirements must come from local jurisdictions. This week, the District of Columbia government mandated that supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, food halls and other establishments limit the number of customers to maintain six feet of separation between people. Montgomery County in Maryland issued a similar order, and other jurisdictions, such as the city of Miami, have mandated that shoppers wear face masks, as grocery chains are reporting their first employee deaths related to the coronavirus.

An FDA spokesman said the agency's new guidelines were not a response to a letter Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., sent this week. "We will respond directly to the Senator," the spokesman, Peter Cassell, wrote in an email.

The senator's Tuesday letter to the heads of the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the agencies "to issue and promote clear guidance for workers in the retail food industry and their customers." The CDC also updated its safety guidelines this week. The senator said he was moved to action after an interaction with a supermarket worker who was "probably more exposed than almost anyone outside our medical community to hundreds of people a day, any one of which could have coronavirus."

The latest FDA guidelines, however, are not mandates, which Markey would prefer to recommendations. They still leave safety decisions up to individual businesses.

"This overdue new guidance is an improvement from the minimal information FDA and CDC previously provided, but the Trump administration must do more to promote these resources to employers, employees, and consumers, and must ensure businesses are implementing these worker protections," Markey wrote in a statement.

“Our frontline workers at grocery stores and in the retail food industry are making it possible for families and businesses to survive this pandemic, and we owe it to them to provide the resources they need to protect their lives and the public’s health.”