The #1 priority for Riverford is the health and wellbeing of co-owners, and we have followed stringent social distancing and hygiene measures since the start of the outbreak. These include:
- COVID-secure risk assessments, which are kept under regular review.
- Swift reporting of symptoms, clear explanations of government guidance and regular communications to all co-owners.
- Supplementary COVID tests have been secured to help ensure rapid testing in the event of any positive case. *Social distancing was implemented immediately across all sites, including re-organising our production areas to reduce face-to-face working, installing Perspex screens where 2m was not achievable, staggering breaks, and regular cleaning of points of hand contact such as machine controls, door handles and pallet truck handles.
- As many co-owners as possible are working from home, to ensure the capacity of co-owners on the farm is kept below 35%.
- Face coverings are obligatory in our farm and production teams.
- We are temperature screening all business-critical visitors and contractors to our farms and all co-owners at our butchery.
- We have installed 2m floor markings across the site, created one-way systems through canteens, added new signage, and screens between hand basins.
- We have removed all cash handling at the canteen facilities.
- No external visitors have been authorised to visit our sites except for business or safety critical purposes.
- All co-owners working in on-site teams are being tested twice weekly for COVID-19, giving us a constantly moving picture of any positive cases.
