Safe food delivery: barriers against Covid-19

The food delivery service has grown during the isolation due to the appearance of Covid-19. This is due to the fact that Spain declared a state of alarm by means of Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14 March, which prohibited the purchase of products not covered by that decree.

However, it is allowed to buy and sell products via the internet, telephone or mail, which means that delivery platforms benefit during this quarantine time.

It is at these times that your work should offer the maximum guarantees of safety. In order to offer a safe delivery, a group of companies and platforms dedicated to delivery have written a guide for workers to offer a safe service for them and their customers.

It establishes a series of considerations and recommendations to protect the health of the population when carrying out any type of commercial activity at a distance.

This regulation has been designed following the recommendations and comments of the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Health, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, and the Autonomous Communities.

Remember that as a deliverer or customer it is important to be informed about how you should act when taking or receiving a delivery. For that reason, in addition to leaving you the PDF with the complete guide, we will resolve any doubts you may have about this service.

Safe delivery procedure

To make a safe delivery it is mandatory to follow the instructions set out in the guide for a safe home delivery for everyone.

This guide was prepared based on the recommendations of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism for businesses dedicated to the hotel and restaurant industry.

In addition, some of the recommendations were written based on the reality of delivery and the experience of the people who work offering this important service.

Another important point is that restaurants and platforms are responsible for compliance with the protocol, and in case of non-compliance legal action will be taken.

The guide consists of five sections of general recommendations on how to protect yourself at all times and four sections on the process to follow during safe delivery.

In order to standardize the food delivery service at home, the platforms for ordering food and payment without direct contact must be defined

As for the restaurant, it must establish how the dishes will be made and the hygiene measures to be followed during preparation and packaging. These are not the usual sanitary measures. Everything has changed.

For the collection of orders, restaurants and delivery companies must agree and establish a protocol that allows the transaction to be done without establishing any kind of direct contact.

And finally, the protocol for delivery to the customer must also be established and clear. Both parties must know and accept how the order will be delivered when it has arrived at the delivery point without having any physical contact with the customers.

Is it safe to be in contact with the wrappers?

Most of the countries in the world are complying with an obligatory social isolation, in which it is allowed to go out to make purchases, to go to pharmacies or to take the dog out, always fulfilling the respective sanitary measures.

However, some people opt for shopping or food delivery to avoid going out and circulating on the streets. In this situation there are many doubts about their safety, profitability and whether there is a possibility of contagion.

Here we address one of the most frequently asked questions that we ask ourselves not only when requesting a food delivery, but before any purchase.

Are we safe after touching the packaging?

According to the World Health Organization, the risk of contracting the virus through contact with a package is low.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published a study stating that there is no research that says Covid-19 is transmitted through food or packaging.

No. However, even if it is not an effective means of transmission, food must be washed and cooked thoroughly.

If you want to disinfect the package received by delivery it is best to use 70% alcohol in the bags and containers. Another option you can use to disinfect is bleach diluted in water.

However, it is not necessary because contamination is low and containers will be discarded. However, it is important to wash your hands after touching all the containers and to avoid putting your hands on your face during the process.

Other recommendations that you can apply after receiving your order is to serve the contents on a plate or platter so that you discard the container immediately and do not come into contact with it

Finally, clean the surface where you placed the container and wash your hands before eating with plenty of water and soap for at least 20 seconds

Make safe delivery and not infect customers

Several platforms that provide the food delivery service have applied sanitary measures to make a safe delivery, both for the delivery person, the staff of the restaurants or shops and the customers.

To this end, the deliverymen were equipped with alcohol gels, mouthpieces and latex gloves

Similarly, they were advised to perform frequent hand washing before receiving an order and after delivering it to the customer.

In the case of orders, all wrappers are sealed with adhesive tape or a sticker to prevent any foreign particles from entering the order.

On the order platforms, the customer is given the option to choose the method of payment. Electronic payment is recommended. In this way, contact between the delivery person and the customer is avoided.

To ensure that the proper protocols are being followed, delivery companies maintain frequent contact with the Ministry of Public Health and the National Emergency System.

This service helps people stay in their homes, comply with voluntary isolation and reduce the number of infections.

Restaurants that opt for secure delivery

Some food chains and restaurants have decided to close their doors during the application of social isolation

However, chains like the Telepizza Group have closed their doors to customers, giving priority to the secure delivery service.

For this chain, the safety of the deliverers and the customers is important. But it is also a priority to provide service at this time, helping people to avoid leaving their homes.

The Telepizza group works under the legal framework of the Royal Decree 463/2020, which indicates that the delivery service is one of the economic sectors that must remain in operation.

In addition to offering delivery to all their clients, they make free deliveries for health-care staff, social canteens, supermarket and grocery store workers, police officers, firefighters, among other groups of people who work in the public service.

To ensure that all health care protocols are used, the Telepizza group has developed a contactless delivery system.

Customers place their orders on the websites or applications and pay with their credit or debit card.

For delivery, the delivery person is equipped with gloves, alcohol-based antibacterial gel and helmets.

Upon arrival at the client’s home, an empty box is placed and the box containing the order is placed on top so that the food does not come into contact with the floor.

The deliverymen ring the bell to let the customer know that the order has arrived and clean their hands with alcohol-based gel.

To wait for the customer, you must go back at least two meters from the order and be there until the customer withdraws it.

This service is being implemented in all Telepizza Group and Pizza Hut locations in each of the autonomous communities.

Without a doubt, it is a way of making a safe delivery and of reassuring your customers when it comes to delivering their order.