FHCP releases online pandemic preparedness guide

Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) released new guidance to assist manufacturers’ ongoing pandemic preparedness and response measures.

Michael Graydon, chief executive officer of FHCP, commented in a statement: “With life and business still far from normal, it is critical that Canada secure stable, resilient supplies of essential goods like food and health products.

FHCP’s new best practice guide will help businesses of all sizes continue to protect employees’ health and safety while supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and making the products Canadians rely on every day, especially in times of crisis.”

Best practices in the checklist range from general considerations for establishing crisis management protocols to specific production practices, like establishing tiered categories for products that can be prioritized if demand spikes.  In the early days of the pandemic, demand for some products rocketed up by as much as 500 percent.

FHCP anticipates the best practice checklist will be particularly helpful for the small businesses, who make up 90 percent of Canada’s food processing businesses alone. The full checklist is available online here:

The food, health, and consumer product sector contributes more than $39.5 billion to Canada’s economy annually and directly supports more than 350,000 jobs. With establishments operating in every province, the sector is Canada’s largest manufacturing employer and the top employer in rural Canada.

For further information:

https://www.fcpc.ca/