#guestpost # Essential pointers for staying safe at your workplace cafeteria during Covid-19
Dealing with the pandemic at hand, we all are aware that the “butterfly effect” is for real and can be brought about by bats too. What happened in a wet market halfway around the world, months back, is seemingly influencing our actions today. Apart from pondering over our next meal, we are also hard-pressed to introspect whether we actually would have a job at the end of this crisis, to earn our bread and butter henceforth.
In the present scenario, social distancing is the way to move forward. Isolating or reporting oneself in case we are feeling any of the symptoms of the disease, or if we have recently been in touch with someone suspected or confirmed as a Covid-19 case, would be the most humane thing to do. You would definitely save a lot of people, who could come in touch with you and most of them would be your family and friends. If you are healthy, definitely stay at home and work from there, if that is what your work allows you to do.
Sometimes though we are all forced to keep things into perspective and move out of our safe zones to get something done that needs a more hands-on and direct approach. This is the situation that all the people who cannot work from home or cannot do so for extended periods, will have to choose.
Here I have tried to list a few simple ideas that you can keep in mind while having food at your office cafeteria. It is a place where a lot of cross-contact between office staff happens and there is a reasonable need to maintain safety. These tips might help you stay safe, not just during the present scenario but also for some time going forward.
Keeping safe: Eating at your office cafeteria during Covid-19
- Simple answer! Eat cooked food that has been checked for a core temperature of being heated above 75°C for at least 15 seconds. There is no scientific evidence that one should avoid non-vegetarian food. As long as the food is thoroughly cooked, it is safe for consumption. Your cafeteria caterer would be ensuring that they are following such FSSAI guidelines to make the delivered food safe for your consumption.
- Even though the food was cooked as per guidelines, it should not be cold when consumed. A typical bain-marie style dispensing of food from your cafeteria should ensure that the food served is hot and not pose any risk of contamination.
- Do not indulge in self-service at your cafeteria. Not even spoons and trays. Allow the management to appoint a screened person to serve food. The same goes for tissue papers, salt, pepper, etc. Anything you touch should not get touched by anyone else after you.
- Avoid taking your trays back for a second helping. In case your organization provides a buffet, you can always ask the server to adjust the food quantity in the first helping. In case you are still feeling hungry, ask your server to get you a fresh tray of food.
- As an extra precaution, avoid raw salads and refrain from having raita/curd, etc., unless they are served from an individually portioned sealed container.
- For places that use certified dishwashing machines, using machine safe crockery and cutlery, as usual, should be adequate to make them disinfected. At other places, it is better to go for disposable plates and spoons. Biodegradables are the option of choice here.
- Cafeteria time rationing should be implemented. Staff should be individually briefed by the management as to when they can use the cafeteria for their meal. Priority for cafeteria space utilization should be given to all people getting adequate time to finish their meals. Once through with your food, immediately vacate the cafeteria for other staff.
- Seating flow in the cafeteria should also be controlled. Sitting should not happen randomly and as per individual choice to limit the scope of mass exposure. People should not sit adjacent or opposite to each other. The idea is to maintain at least some safe distance around you. Once a table is used, it should not be reused unless disinfected thoroughly. A dedicated cafeteria housekeeping team with proper protective gear should be at hand for this.
- Keep the cafeteria closed outside of meal timings. The management can use the time thus available to sanitize the space thoroughly for the next meal period. The area should not be converted to a social place for staff to fraternize and work defeating the purpose of social distancing.
- If you feel more comfortable, you can carry your own lunch box and in case your organization would approve of it, have it at your workstation to avoid going to the cafeteria altogether.
Covid-19 is here and till we get a vaccine for this contagion, we need to ensure that we beat this with knowledge and science behind us. It is in the face of this new adversity that we need to ensure that our actions do not cause panic and help us restore normal life at the earliest possible. This is a test for us all, a challenge for our species, which we can, with resolve and caution, overcome in what would be the finest hour for humanity.
“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
Desmond Tutu
Pankaj Ambardar, Director, Foghorn Foods, is a Culinary Specialist (Food Science and Technology, Nutrition) from Hattori Nutrition College, Japan. Over the years, he has worked with with leading food services, and hospitality brands like - The Grand, Oliver Bar & Kitchen, and San Shu Sha (Japan). He presesently leads operations at Foghorn Foods, a company specializing in large scale food production for corporate, with meticulous attention to health, nutrition, and culinary delight.