COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten food industry, security, nutrition and international food trade in highly integrated global system
At the U21 (Universitas21) Health Sciences Group (HSG) Meeting which is being hosted by UCD, the global university network of Health Sciences staff and students will today hear more detail on specific challenges to effective prevention and control of COVID-19 in the food industry and how certain countries are unable to satisfy demand from national production coupled with an increased reliance of importation of food. There is also evidence that trade restrictive measures are compounding the intensity of this impact, increasing prices and reducing availability of supply on international markets.
Speaking on ‘COVID-19 and Food Safety’ at the meeting, Prof Pat Wall, Prof of Public Health, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, UCD said ‘We are now seeing the effects of overcrowded accommodation and congregated industrial settings that some workers in the food production industry in Ireland are enduring. These workers live in close proximity to each other and, at work, often share large work tops where COVID-19 laden droplets may be contaminating the environment emphasising the importance of identifying and excluding symptomatic workers. Certain elements of the food industry also present environments that are favourable to the spread of COVID-19 with metallic surfaces, low ambient temperatures and high relative humidity.’
Professor Wall summarised the challenges to effective prevention and control of COVID-19 in the food industry as follows;
Maintenance of physical distancing on production lines and during breaks
Adherence to the use of face coverings
Continued attendance at work while symptomatic
Adherence to heightened cleaning and disinfection
Communication to overcome language and cultural problems
Sharing transport to and from work
“COVID-19 controls should include implementation of more staggered shifts in the food industry, zoning in the factory and have workers operating in pods at work. There is no point having workers segregated in pods at work if they travel to work and live with workers in other pods. The industry needs appropriate use of adequate PPE and acrylic screens to increase physical separation. This should be complemented by regular health questionnaires, temperature checks and exclusion of workers with symptoms to self-isolate or transfer to isolation facilities, if it is not possible for them to isolate in their own accommodation.”
“The food industry needs access to rapid swabbing, testing and delivery of results to individuals and management. The only way asymptomatic workers will be identified is by comprehensive testing” concluded Prof Wall
Also speaking at the U21 HSG meeting on ‘Food System Resilience Tested by COVID-19’, Dr Peter Alexander, Interdisciplinary Senior Lecturer in Global Food Security, University of Edinburgh said “While reactions to restrict food trade have only occurred so far on a modest scale, there is evidence that export bans were in place in 10 countries in June 2020. However risk remains of more dramatic trade policies decisions and subsequent copycat measures with potential for harm for the food industry and consumers in both importing and exporting countries. Food price increases or supply shortages triggered by COVID-19 and exacerbated by shifts in international trading arrangements would act to worsen food poverty with associated harm to health.”
One Health, the central theme of the U21 HSG meeting is an approach to designing and implementing programmes, policies, legislation, and research whereby multiple sectors from the human, animal and environment health worlds communicate and work together to achieve better public health outcomes. The vision of UCD ‘One Health’ is to maximize the health and well-being of humans, animals and the environment through academic excellence, collaborative research, education, and outreach.
The U21 HSG is a global university network of Health Sciences staff and students that includes members from 19 universities worldwide. The vision of ‘One Health’ U21 scholars is to maximize the health and well-being of humans, animals and the environment through academic excellence, collaborative research, education, and outreach. In essence 'One Health' is an approach to designing and implementing programmes, policies, legislation, and research whereby multiple sectors communicate and work together to achieve better global public health outcomes. UCD College of Health and Agriculture Science was selected to host the 20th. U21 HSG Group Annual Meeting in August 2020.
The central theme of the 2020 U21 HSG meeting is ONE HEALTH: A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO HEALTH. Please see FULL MEETING PROGRAMME here https://www.ucd.ie/medicine/u21hsg2020