Ever since the coronavirus pandemic saw its onset in the early months of this year, hygiene and safety has become particularly critical for all businesses, especially those which handle food, such as butchers shops and restauranteurs. Here on the blog at Butchers Equipment Warehouse, we’ve posted a few articles recently detailing some useful measures you can take to ensure that your shipments are getting into your premises free from any viruses or other harmful micro-organisms.

Now that restrictions are continuing to ease, butchers shops here in Britain are making changes to the way they work. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the most fundamental ways butchers shops throughout the UK are changing to keep their customers safe - and we’ve also given a quick spotlight to one butcher who went the extra mile to keep his staff and customers safe. You might want to adopt some of his measures for your own premises!

The essential measures everyone should be taking

The weakness of Covid-19 virus to soap and hand sanitiser has been well documented over the past few months, so by far one of the most vital measures is for butchers to ensure that they have hand soap and sanitiser gel readily available in their premises, both for customers and staff. Ideally it should be situated at all possible entry points, so that people can clean their hands before they set foot across the threshold.

It’s also strongly recommended to regularly wipe down counters, handrails and door handles, and provide tissues to customers and staff should they need them. Health and safety measures relating to Covid-19 should be prominently displayed, so that they can provide reassurance and / or vital information.

Many butchers are experimenting with staggering the arrival of staff into the premises, enabling them to give each other more physical space. On a similar note, the majority of establishments are placing upper limits on the number of customers who can be in the business at any one time. For places where queues are likely to form, queuing rules are commonplace, so that customers are also able to give each other the right amount of distance.

Cleaning-worksurface

Naturally, payment is a particular area many places are focusing on, especially since customers and staff alike will have to be touching buttons and terminals relatively often. To minimise this, contactless payments are becoming the preferred method to pay, and all payment terminals are being cleaned regularly.

Finally - this is one to look at for your own premises - it’s a good idea to double check that as well as the normal butchers knives and equipment, your own staff are appropriately equipped with all the necessary PPE - especially face coverings! If you’re looking at buying some new face coverings in the near future, we recommend taking a quick look at the latest government measures, as the guidance is often subject to change as new data emerges. At the time of writing, a new law has just come in which mandates the use of masks in public retail spaces like shops, and there’s currently some uncertainty over the use of N95 masks - new information suggests that they may protect the wearer but not anyone around them, largely defeating the point of the government’s new policy. We want too stress though, that this is still evolving at the time of writing - so make sure to check the current rules before you invest in any further masks for your staff!

How one butcher transformed his shop to be Covid-safe

Even though the strictest lockdown measures have thankfully passed, it still might be worth taking a couple of pointers from one particular butcher in Conwy, North Wales. Ieuan Edwards, of Edwards of Conwy, went to exceptional lengths to ensure that his premises were as safe as they could possibly be for customers and staff alike.

He installed plastic screens all around his shop counters, and used floor markings to help customers judge their distance from each other. The staff are all outfitted with mandatory gloves and masks at all times, and serve customers through small hatches to minimise contact. Mr Edwards also began restricted the sale of prepared meals to older shoppers, and made arrangements to donate any unused (or unusable) stock to people in need.

Notably, this was all implemented at the height of the lockdown measures, but it’s still probably worth considering whether you can take similar measures for your own premises. Restrictions may be easing, and infection rates may be dropping, but that doesn’t make the virus any less dangerous. With Covid-19 continuing to pose a threat to public health all over the world, you may see fit to introduce your own additional measures.

We’ll leave that up to you though - as for us, you can count on us to provide a great range of top-tier butchers equipment including top-tier butchers knives, meat mincers and other equipment. You can browse them right here on our site, or if you’ve got any questions or need any advice, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01254 427761!