Coronavirus Bulletin: Guidance for food businesses

Pubs, Bistros and Restaurants

The pub and restaurant sector – an industry worth more than £40bn – is facing long-term economic damage as a result of the emergency, while consumers have been forced to change how they shop for food, with queues, physical distancing and restrictions on the number of items available for purchase now commonplace.

The situation has led to a surge in the popularity of food delivery services; many businesses are seeking to diversify their offerings by providing takeaways for the first time, and consumers reluctant to venture into supermarkets are embracing home delivery more than ever before.

Legal Changes?

These unprecedented circumstances have thrown up fresh challenges for legislation, and new regulations are being brought in to ease the pressure on businesses while still ensuring that consumer safety is enforced.

This does mean though that many consumers and businesses may be unsure of their rights and responsibilities as they apply to buying and selling food, and there has been an unfortunate tendency for misinformation to proliferate online, particularly on social media.

A New Guide To Help Businsses

With this in mind, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has launched a new free guide via its Business Companion website, which is supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The Coronavirus Bulletin on food has been designed to serve as a quick, accurate and up-to-date reference for those with questions around the current legislation, and will be updated regularly as the situation develops.

As well as links to reliable and authoritative further reading resources, it provides an overview of the current situation and the new measures being introduced around food manufacturing and delivery. It also contains information on the new rules around carrier bag charges and provisions to combat food waste, as well as information on food business closures and enforcement.

What Key Measures Are Needed?

For those operating food shops, the guide outlines the key measures that should be put in place to protect workers and shoppers during the pandemic. These include monitoring the number of customers within store and limiting access to avoid congestion, implementing queue management systems to limit crowds gathering at entrances, and the importance of maintaining two metres distance between shoppers and staff.

CTSI Chief Executive, Leon Livermore, says: " CTSI is committed to encouraging good practice and helping responsible businesses improve their services. The COVID-19 emergency is an unprecedented challenge for business, and many, especially in the food and drink sector, are looking to diversify during the lockdown.

"Business Companion is free, and an absolute must-have for UK business, and its new Food & Drink section provides a comprehensive and clear guide for the industry. Importantly, it covers parts of industry regulations businesses may have never considered before and puts business on the fast-track to diversification."