Hello, Friends.
Like so many of you, we have spent the last several days and weeks learning about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it’s affecting our community. Here at Cooks, that means understanding how it affects our team, as well as our environments and then making the necessary adjustments to our work and operations.
We have one simple objective that guides us: following the standards and expectations presented by Minnesota and national leadership.
We are taking our guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health and the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. Both of these entities recommend regular cleaning as one of the most important preventive measures we can take. With these as our starting point, we've also added many additional measures to our cleanliness plan. Preparing for COVID-19 in your place of business (link)
We have ramped up cleaning services in our stores, and we are asking our team to frequently sanitize handles and areas near workstations and counters and in our schools. We have also shared specific instructions with our employees on the importance of washing their hands and staying home if they feel sick.
Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 recommendations align with and support industry standard food safety and food handling precautions. In our schools, we use approved food grade cleaners and sanitizers. Hand-washing stations are present in all locations, and they are used frequently. All utensils are run through commercial grade dishwashers and sanitizers. All environments are cleaned after every use. All surfaces wiped again before prep and prior to participant arrival.
All of our teams have been trained on the importance of safe food handling, and leaders are certified by the State of Minnesota.
This is most certainly a fluid situation. Cooks' standards and guidelines will always align with the objectives put forth by state and national leadership. Like you, we support their perspective and place our trust in their guidance.