Page 43 - FMT Magazine, September 2020

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to return to jobs after lockdown for activities after the gap in production and then frequently in coming
continued production and meeting before production resumes is yet time will be important activity to
the demands of food products supply. another important aspect for food be taken care by organizations for
processing industry for ensuring safeguarding the employees. HR
3. AVAILABILITY OF safe food products for consumers. people need to find out simple yet

AGRICULTURAL RAW MATERIALS: effective ways for spreading the
Amidst the current situation of 6. HEALTH AND SAFETY OF awareness about the crises and
lockdown, good seeds and other EMPLOYEES: precautions to be taken e.g visual
farm inputs reaching in time to Ensuring proper health monitoring displays or videos.
farmers for plantation season will be and safety of employees working
a challenge. This particular situation in food processing, handling, 8. SURVIVAL AND SUITABILITY IN
is going to impact the availability of transportation will be next FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY:
good quality and required quantity challenge post lockdown. Enforcing Creating synergy in agriculture, food
of the raw materials at right prices recommended “six feet” social processing and biotechnology will
for processing. Further this will distancing norms between workers of need of the hour. Food processing
be affecting the availability of can be challenge for food processors. business owners along with the
processed products and its prices. Organizations need to make every employees need to focus on effective
possible effort to identify and utilization of available resources to
4. FOOD IMPORTS AND EXPORTS implement operational changes that survive and sustain in this diffi cult
RESTRICTIONS: facilitates employee separation as times. Proper organizational risk
The slowdown in manufacturing well as reduction of impact of the assessment for sustainability and
activities in China, Europe, US same on productivity. Organizations business continuity considering all
and other Asian countries due to specially HR departments need to the factors, situation and its impact
pandemic is hitting the imports work on creative staffi ng options on organization would be crucial for
and exports of the raw materials, so as to prevent the person to time to come.
ingredients and products. Food person transmission of the virus
processing industries that strongly and extension of production (shift) CONCLUSION
rely on food imports will have to timings so as to accommodate same After this unprecedented issue
face the challenge of unavailability, level of productions. Measures to of COVID 19, the words like risk
shortage or availability at higher reduce contact between workers and assessment, hygiene, sanitation,
prices of raw materials and about keeping employees safe will sustainability, emergency
ingredients. It will be extremely further help to boost morale among preparedness and personal hygiene
important and urgent to fi nd out line workers who are hesitant to will have clearer and deeper meaning
local sources of same/ similar work due to fear of transmission of in implementation rather than just
materials for continued production. Corona virus. Increased scrutiny being addressed in documents, SOP
Similarly export restrictions will when evaluating vendors, visitors and checklists.
also have deep impact on global food and employees will be new area
security. Brainstorming over this for quality assurance and HR Briefing note on COVID 19 and its

emergency and its preparedness will departments to work upon. impact by Mc Kensey and Company
be great challenge for government emphasis the on horizons of Resolve,
and organizations in coming time. 7. TRAINING AND CREATING Resilience, Return, Re-imagination
AWARENESS: and Reform related to challenges of
5. HYGIENE AND SANITATION AT Amidst of all sort of information industries. And while we Resume to
PROCESSING SITES: which may be facts or misleading “New Normal” after this diffi cult time,
Ensuring increased hygiene and information from all the sources two things we need to safeguard is
sanitation efforts for safety of about COVID 19, providing right and “our lives” and “ our livelihoods”.
employee will be very important relevant training related to virus
during and after lockdown. New transmission, precautions, hygiene
technology and innovations in and sanitation is great challenge for
sanitation and disinfection will be HR persons. Time demand creating
key challenge for food processing awareness and reducing the panic * Author is in Foodiesys Consulting, Pune.
to prevent contamination. Effective among the employees. Providing the And can be reached at foodiesys@gmail.
cleaning, sanitation and pest control trainings before production resumes com

Food Marketing & Technology 43 September 2020