22nd December 2020
Following on from the UK Government announcement over the weekend of 19th/20th December concerning the changing COVID-19 situation and the introduction of localised Tier 4 restrictions there are a significant number of our customers and colleagues contacting us to understand the approach the FSSI Group are taking in response.
We continue to follow WHO and UK Government guidance and are actively implementing the measures needed to provide a balanced approach to protect the health of our employees and clients, and the safety of the foods they produce.
The health and safety of our employees, sub-contractors and customers is paramount and we have been providing all field team and administrative staff with PPE and regular updates on how to prevent the spread of the virus where possible
In addition to our existing COVID-19 safe operating processes, we have, with immediate effect, implemented an additional control and no FSSI Group Auditor will travel to or conduct a physical audit in a Tier 4 location due to the increased risk of infection. Remote Audits remain an alternative option providing the sites are capable of receiving/conducting them. Physical audits will be available to sites based in Tier 3 or lower locations following a full risk assessment by the auditor.
FSSI will not allow any auditor who resides in a Tier 4 area to conduct a physical audit; however, they will be able to continue to provide Remote Audit services.
Our employees have been instructed to comply with site requests for COVID-19 health controls insofar as they do not violate their privacy rights or conflict with customer protocols. If an issue arises this will be discussed on a case by case basis with the relevant programme owner.
The FSSI Group follow the UK Government guidance on International travel and the limitations of respective countries travel restrictions.
At this time administrative support services and digital services based in the UK remain unchanged. We continue to work closely with our key partners to monitor and mitigate the risks of their food safety programmes.
We will provide further updates as the situation changes.
If you have any questions regarding this update, please follow the link below: