Covid-19 Response Measures
With the advent of the novel coronavirus “COVID-19”, Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd. has reviewed our standard and extended practices during this period.
To the best of our knowledge COVID-19 spreads in a similar manner to the MERS-Coronavirus, which is to say by indirect surface transmission or direct transmission via water droplets from sneezing or coughing. It does not seem to spread directly through food (our products).
COVID-19 seems to be able to survive on Cardboard for up to 24 hours and on plastic or stainless steel surfaces for up to 72 hours.
In this regard, the three main ways of reducing risk are to prevent product being handled by symptomatic workers, regular hand decontamination, and ensuring work surfaces are clean.
As a responsible producer who works to a GFSI certified program, these activities are naturally covered by our Good Manufacturing Practices and standard operating procedures for all staff on site at all times.
Remote working is not a viable solution for most if not all of our workforce, however, to strengthen our approach during this time, ESG has taken some extra measures to do our best to minimize any potential spread for our staff, or our product.
- Refreshed Hand washing training for all staff members on 12th March 2020.
- Daily briefings with staff in the morning on good practices and updates on Coronavirus both locally, and globally.
- Staff encouraged to self isolate with any COVID-19 symptoms displayed, or displayed by immediate family members.
- Staggering communal break times (Coffee/Lunch) to minimize the amount of workers sharing communal spaces at the same time.
- Spaced out work stations in our production facility to give our workers as much space (ideally greater than 6 feet) between each other.
- Encouraged direct customers to purchase from local grocery stores rather than come to our site.
- Discontinued participation in the local Farmer’s market for the duration of the outbreak.
- Re-designing local deliveries to stores to reduce human to human contact.
- E-Transfers instead of cash for local orders.
- No signatures required.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely both within our facility, locally, and globally, for new information and regulations.
Thank you for your time,
The Management Team
Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd.
At Eatmore Sprouts, we take food safety very seriously. We continue to invest our time, energy, finances, and personal commitment into the operation and ongoing improvement of our Food Safety Plan. Our Food Safety Plan was created based on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) Code of Practice for the Hygienic Production of Sprouted Seeds and the Food Safety Guidance for Sprout Manufacturers: First Edition. We are (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) HACCP Certified! Primus GFS We are routinely inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Vancouver Island Health Authority, and third party auditors as a food processor. Every food commodity has its own particular areas where special attention is required for production of safe foods for the consumer. In the case of sprouts, that means starting with the seeds themselves. We buy only certified organic seeds from approved suppliers. Every bag of seed is inspected prior to use in our facility. Seed inspection includes bacterial pathogen testing at a certified third party laboratory. We only accept the very best seeds! Once we sprout the seeds, every batch of sprouts is tested again, through a third party laboratory, for Salmonella and Ecoli 0157 H7. No sprout leaves our facility until we get a clear result from the lab! Our testing program includes seed, spent irrigation water, bulk samples and our compost. We take every measure possible to control the handling and process parameters from start to finish to deliver consistent quality to our valued customers.
Recommended ways to handle sprouts prior to consumption:
We are Committed to Food Safety
Food Testing
