In this context of sanitary crisis, banana companies in Costa Rica must ensure the cleaning and disinfection, at least twice a day, of all surfaces and spaces that are considered critical.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) recently approved the protocol for the prevention of covid-19 in the banana sector, which contemplates the preventive and mitigation actions that producers of this fruit for export must comply with to avoid the spread of the disease.
The statement dated July 6, 2020 states that "... Among the measures contemplated in the protocol for the banana sector should be applied in buildings, packing plants and plantations, include the following:
-Controls for the entry and exit of people to plants and farms.
-Use of personal protection such as mouth guards and face masks.
-Distance between employees.
-Decrease in the number of meetings.
-Hand washing protocol after coughing and sneezing or after touching potentially contaminated surfaces.
-Banana companies must provide the personnel with the necessary hygiene products to be able to follow the recommendations (water and soap, as well as alcohol gel, at 60° or 70°).
-There should be a person in charge of verifying compliance with the new COVID-19 prevention practices, both in packing plants and on farms.
-Employees must make correct and mandatory use of the personal protection equipment provided by the company, which must be disposed of in an exclusive plastic bag.
-Companies must ensure that all surfaces and spaces that are considered critical, such as handles, handrails, light switches, clock, toilets, water faucets, desks and computer equipment, tools, among others, handled with high frequency by employees and visitors, are cleaned and disinfected at least twice a day.
-All banana sector facilities should have a plan for business continuity, in case of an interruption in the process, so that they can return to operation as quickly as possible.
-The continuity plan should serve to protect against, reduce the possibility of, prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptive incidents when they occur."
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In order to reactivate economic activity in Panama, the authorities of the Ministry of Health published in the Official Journal the guidelines of strict compliance for companies and workers.
In order to reactivate economic activity in Panama, Ministry of Health authorities issued strict compliance guidelines for companies and workers.
The guide is aimed at producers, distributors, and consumers; microenterprises, medium-size companies, large companies, and their clients, who are required to comply with the standards established by the health authorities in order to mitigate the expansion of covid-19, the official document details.
Although several companies have been affected by the measures implemented by governments in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, Costa Rican exports of coffee, pineapple and bananas have so far not faced difficulties with logistics.
Directors of the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica (Icafé) indicated that so far there have been no problems with the availability of containers and that sales abroad are proceeding normally.
Costa Rica has updated the mandatory phytosanitary measures for imports, while in Guatemala protocols are being implemented in the fields where the fruit is harvested, because of the threat of Fusarium R4T disease.
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