AFDO COVID-19 Situation Update
Saturday Special Edition
5/9/20
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Links to most guidance documents and information in this communication can be found on the AFDO COVID-19 Resources Page at www.afdo.org for ease of use on an ongoing basis.
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After weeks of shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation has begun to slowly open up. This is the state of the country -- for more information about the situation, read more at the New York Times website.
- Source New York Times May 9, 2020
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FDA Releases Best Practices for Re-Opening Food Establishments During COVID-19
Late Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued two documents, a checklist and an infographic, designed to assist retail food establishments that might have been closed or partially closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in preparing to reopen. The two documents are designed to help businesses that prepare food to serve or sell to the public directly, such as restaurants, bakeries, bars and carry-outs, protect employee and public health as they reopen for business.
Please see the link below for further information and tools
Best Practices for Re-Opening Retail Food Establishments During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Unreleased CDC Guide to Reopening Has Valuable Guidance for Food Retail
According to a story released by the Associated Press yesterday, documents created by the CDC meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as restaurants during the still-raging pandemic was shelved by the Trump administration. The section for restaurants and food service has some valuable guidance for consideration -- you can find this section in pdf form here. The 17-page report titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework,” was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen. Read the complete story here.
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AFDO Provides Planning Guidance for Food Establishments Reopening
The Association of Food and Drug Officials is sharing guidance and resources to help food service plan for reopening. This document is not all encompassing but provides some ideas for planning to return to partial and eventually full operation as restrictions are removed. Each operation may need to modify this guidance based on their jurisdiction. It is important to do this preliminary work now so operators can focus on cooking and serving once the doors are open. Check out this guidance here.
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COVID-19 Food Safety Materials Available in Additional Languages
Yesterday, the FDA released informational materials for food industry in Spanish, Somali and other languages. This assistance provides food safety best practices for retail food stores, restaurants and food pick-up/delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Spanish resource: What to Do if You Have COVID-19 Confirmed Positive or Exposed Workers in Your Food Production, Storage, or Distribution Operations Regulated by FDA
- Spanish resource: Use of Respirators, Facemasks, and Cloth Face Coverings in the Food and Agriculture Sector During Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic
- Somali, Af Soomaali resource: Best Practices for Retail Food Stores, Restaurants, and Food Pick-Up/Delivery Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Hmong, Hmoob resource: Best Practices for Retail Food Stores, Restaurants, and Food Pick-Up/Delivery Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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FDA Continues to Combat Fraudulent COVID-19 Medical Products
On May 7, the FDA provided an update on the agency’s efforts to combat the extremely concerning actions by companies and individuals that are exploiting or taking advantage of widespread fear among consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to scammers on the internet selling unproven medical products, the FDA has taken – and continues to take – a number of steps to find and stop those selling unapproved products that fraudulently claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose or cure COVID-19. Read the FDA release here.
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TODAY: There is Still Time to Register for Multi-Generational Speaker Jeff Butler -- AFDO Professional Development Series
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No matter what your age, you are working in a multi-generational workplace. Upcoming AFDO webinar presenter Jeff Butler is an expert at helping people (of all ages) navigate what that means for you and your teams.
This is an unprecedented opportunity to learn from this speaker, author and workplace strategist who has devoted his life to bridging generational gaps of all kinds – from workplace to technology. Through special arrangement with AFDO, Jeff Butler will be sharing his approaches through two of his most sought after presentations.
Check Jeff out for yourself here and then sign up for one of the two topics at the time that works best for you.
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| THE AUTHENTIC WORKPLACE
WHY BEING YOU IS THE BEST STRATEGY IN TODAY'S MARKET
In the age of social media and digital politics, almost every message has various distortions contorting the true intention of the original message. Anyone can throw on a filter today or change a message's context in a matter of seconds (fake news). Unfortunately, the workplace is also falling prey to digital disruption, changing workplace relationships even though non-digital connections are the foundation of any successful organization. But with technology fragmenting human elements at work, how can people be human and build stronger relationships such as increasing team productivity and culture retention? Jeff Butler, in this program, will explore why authenticity is the key to many of these challenges and how this trait is more than 'being yourself'. In addition, he will show tangible ways of how people can leverage their incredible empathetic power to transform their workplace. In his research, he discovered three key elements of authenticity and why more than ever, not only organizations, but also individuals need to utilize its effectiveness in order to be successful today. By unlocking its power, anyone can learn to bring the best you to work.
Learning Points:
1) How to effectively connect with coworkers so they recognize the true intention behind your message.
2) Tangible ways to leverage authenticity influence team productivity and culture health.
3) Why so many people in the workplace got it wrong when it comes to feedback.
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FDA Continues to Respond to Questions
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food and Cosmetic Information Center (FCIC)/Technical Assistance Network (TAN) continues to release responses for questions of interest to AFDO members regarding COVID-19. These answers can be found here.
It's important to check back frequently for the latest as well as visit the AFDO COVID-19 Resource Page.
This is in addition to updating its COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions page to include guidance regarding food products. Real time updates of the FDA's Food Safety and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) page can be found at https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-during-emergencies/food-safety-and-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19. Updates are dated so you are able to tell what information has been added each time.
As part of the AFDO commitment to providing information and resources to members and the those we serve, we continue to add resources to the COVID-19 Resource Page. We continue to offer links to information that has been developed by our partnerships and other subject matter experts. If you identify resources that should be considered or your organization develops some of your own that can be shared with other members, please email them or the link to bbenschoter@afdo.org. We appreciate everyone who helps us be more prepared.
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AFDO Professional Development Series Continues to Add More Offerings - From Manufacturing Practices to Food Trucks to Cannabis
The Association of Food and Drug Officials is continuing its support of our regulatory and industry partners until the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. We continue to provide relevant content to keep staff engaged by offering a growing series of webinars and web-based training courses that can be utilized for staff development. We have provided a variety of courses and webinars and new offerings are added every day. Please check the webpage to look for the daily additions. And if you missed a webinar, those recordings are available through this page as well. All webinars, webinar recordings and courses are free! Just register for the course using the “Register Now” link associated with that course to obtain the log-in information.
In addition, you can access the AFDO podcast catalog at the following links. Videos can be found at https://afdo.podbean.com/ and audio podcasts at https://afdoaudio.podbean.com/. Or download the AFDO app (IT'S FREE) so you can listen or watch on the go. The app is available for iPhone and Android.
If there are topics of interest that you think should be in our catalog, please let us know by emailing afdo@afdo.org.
No CEU's or Certificates of Attendance will be available for these sessions.
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