by: Chloe HumbertPosted on:

Perhaps a respirator mask should be recommended in all stages of food production?

Screenshot is a link card from USA Today dot com, with the headline First human case of bird flu detected in Texas after outbreak of virus among c… photo of some kind of cages with a sign on a paper print out, the sign has images of gloves and boots and says quarantine please wear gloves and boots
Screenshot is a link card from USA Today dot com, with the headline First human case of bird flu detected in Texas after outbreak of virus among c… photo of some kind of cages with a sign on a paper print out, the sign has images of gloves and boots and says quarantine please wear gloves and boots

From 2010:

The Florida Times-Union – Survey: Food servers feel pressured to work while sick – A labor group says the practice is posing a national health hazard. Diane Stafford – Oct 6, 2010 The survey sponsors say those numbers heighten public health risks if the nation’s 10 million restaurant industry employees, working in more than 568,000 food and drink establishments, spread disease.

From 2015:

NPR – Survey: Half Of Food Workers Go To Work Sick Because They Have To – October 19, 2015 – By  Lynne Shallcross Fifty-one percent of food workers — who do everything from grow and process food to cook and serve it — said they “always” or “frequently” go to work when they’re sick, according to the results of a survey released Monday. An additional 38 percent said they go to work sick “sometimes.” That’s a practice that can have serious public health consequences. For instance, as The Salt reported last year, the vast majority of reported cases of norovirus — the leading cause of foodborne disease outbreaks and illnesses across the country — have been linked to infected food industry workers.

Early in the pandemic:

ProPublica – The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19 Newly released documents reveal that the meatpacking industry’s callousness toward the health of its workers and its influence over the Trump administration were far greater than previously known. by Michael Grabell May 13, 2022, 3:40 p.m. EDT As workers began calling in sick at a Tyson pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa, the company’s workplace health managers instructed plant nurses not to record the absences as “COVID-19,” but instead as “flu-like symptoms,” families of deceased workers said in their lawsuit. ProPublica reported extensively on how COVID cases at the plant spread through the community. Similarly, when local health officials in California investigated an outbreak at a Foster Farms chicken plant, they discovered five additional deaths that had been marked not as fatalities, but instead as “resolved cases” or “resolutions.” Health officials told the subcommittee that during a conference call with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, someone from either Foster Farms or the USDA jokingly called them “toe tag resolutions,” referring to the toe tags that are often put on corpses at morgues.

2023:

Health – Sick Restaurant Workers Linked to 40% of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, CDC Says By Korin Miller Published on June 7, 2023 According to study authors, retail food establishments should adopt more comprehensive food safety policies in order to help prevent foodborne illness outbreaks. “Ill workers continue to play a substantial role in retail food establishment outbreaks,” the authors of the report wrote, “and comprehensive ill worker policies will likely be necessary to mitigate this public health problem.”

cdc.gov/norovirus/outbreaks/common-settings.html and at Catered Events Norovirus is the leading cause of outbreaks from contaminated food in the United States. About 50% of all outbreaks of food-related illness are caused by norovirus. Most of these outbreaks occur in food service settings like restaurants. Infected food workers are frequently the source of outbreaks in food-service settings, often by touching ready-to-eat foods, such as raw fruits and vegetables, with their bare hands before serving them. However, any food served raw or handled after being cooked can get contaminated with norovirus. Norovirus outbreaks can also occur from food that is contaminated at the source or on the farm, such as oysters harvested from contaminated water, or fruit and vegetables sprayed with contaminated water in the field. Foods that are commonly involved in norovirus outbreaks include: Leafy greens (such as lettuce) Fresh fruits Shellfish (such as oysters)
cdc.gov/norovirus/outbreaks/common-settings.html and at Catered Events Norovirus is the leading cause of outbreaks from contaminated food in the United States. About 50% of all outbreaks of food-related illness are caused by norovirus. Most of these outbreaks occur in food service settings like restaurants. Infected food workers are frequently the source of outbreaks in food-service settings, often by touching ready-to-eat foods, such as raw fruits and vegetables, with their bare hands before serving them. However, any food served raw or handled after being cooked can get contaminated with norovirus. Norovirus outbreaks can also occur from food that is contaminated at the source or on the farm, such as oysters harvested from contaminated water, or fruit and vegetables sprayed with contaminated water in the field. Foods that are commonly involved in norovirus outbreaks include: Leafy greens (such as lettuce) Fresh fruits Shellfish (such as oysters)