Canadian poultry company Sofina Foods reported its first case of COVID-19 on April 23.
An employee at its plant in Calgary, Alberta, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sofina Foods, in a press release, shared the actions the company took to proactively prepare for the risks associated with the COVID-19 outbreak and how they helped effectively manage its response after the employee tested positive.
"The employee has been self-isolating at home and is doing well." said Gerry Beadle, operations director, Calgary at Sofina Foods. "We had anticipated this possibility as part of our COVID-19 business continuity planning and had identified proactive measures to mitigate risks to our employees. A lot of initiatives were already in place following guidance and best practices from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the industry."
Sofina Foods reviewed its current COVID-19 practices with the Alberta Health Services, which confirmed that the company had taken all necessary measures to protect the health of their employees and prevent further spread of the virus in its plant. The plant is fully operational.
Co-workers who may have come in close contact with the diagnosed employee were asked to self-isolate at home and monitor their health.
Beadle added: "When COVID-19 started spreading in Canada, we took quick actions to protect our employees, such as more frequent disinfection of offices, equipment and common areas, physical distancing where feasible, staggered breaks, Plexiglas separations for employees working in production, enhanced communication on good hygiene practices, providing face shields to employees and temperature checks for anyone entering one of our facilities. This gave us a significant head start to promptly and effectively address this type of incident."
These actions were in addition to a ban on travel and limiting visits to facilities to essential needs only.
Sofina Foods' plant in Calgary manufactures fresh chicken products and employs 450 people.
Headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Sofina Foods has several brands of chicken and turkey products. Other brands include Lilydale and Cuddy Food Products. Sofina acquired Lilydale, then a producer-owned poultry processing cooperative in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2010 for a price of CA$130 million.
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