Thailand remains as one of the only few of the world’s largest food producers that has undisrupted food supply chain.
Despite no report of locally transmitted COVID-19, Thai meat producers, including Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CPF), has reassured that it will keep a strict preventive measures against the outbreak to ensure 100% product safety.
Using a successful experience from the operation in Wuhan, China, CPF has outlined a single-standard practice throughout all business units, including feed, livestock farm, processed food, logistic network, warehouse and office. This helps guarantee the company’s product quality and traceability.
To ensure highest safety, CPF has encouraged social and physical distancing at work. The company increased number of shuttle buses to service employees from their residents to manufacturing plants. Moreover, the company also extends lunch time to facilitate social distancing practice as well as increases health checkpoints and alcohol for hand spray areas. Particularly, there are health checkpoints with walk-through body temperature scanner at entrance of an operational site as a precaution against COVID-19.
Within the area of operation, the employees are required to wear gloves and masks all the time. Additionally, the company increases sanitization schedule and applied automation to reduce human contact during logistic process.
Worker’s confidence is the key of the company’s undisrupted operation. Therefore, CPF Covid-19 hotline is established to provide up-to-date information and useful advice in accordance to the guideline of the department of disease control for every employee, including migrant workers. With a better understanding of the disease, they can promptly comply with the safety practices and gain confidence in working with CPF.
CPF and contract farmers are also taking a “New Normal” practice at their farms. Dr. Damnoen Chaturavittawong (D.V.M), Senior Vice President of Swine Veterinary Service Department at CPF, said that strict animal and human disease control measures have been continually practiced at the company for both livestock and aquaculture businesses, as required by international standards. In the outbreak of ASF epidemic across Asia and COVID-19 pandemic, additional stringent measures and guidelines have been exercised.
To protect livestock raisers from COVID-19, CPF has exercised the following measures at buildings and farms countrywide: 1) Temperature monitoring that covers all employees who must take leave, even without fever, if having these symptoms like coughing, running nose, chest pain or sore throat 2) Social distancing including 2-meter distance between persons, zero farm visit, alternate work hours, no travel to risk areas and the work-from-home policy 3) Personal hygiene concerning face masks and protective equipment and regular hand washing and 4) Safe transportation that requires the measurement of transporters’ temperature, face masks, hand washing before and after work, contactless transportation and etc.
Additionally, CP Freshmart, a retail business of CPF, has joined a government declaration on safety guideline for food delivery. Under the government’s guideline, it conducts temperature checks of its employee’s rights after they arrived at work. Meanwhile, the delivery staffs are required to wear a mask and sanitized their hands before handing over product to customer as well as adhere to social distancing rules
The retail chain also encourages consumers to pay via digital payment, which is contactless, to minimize the risk of infection.
