COVID-19 Testing Needs in the Food Processing Industry

On March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20. This order directed all California residents to follow current state public health directives to stay home, except as needed to maintain the continuity of operations of essential critical infrastructure sectors and other sectors designated by the State Public Health Officer. As part of this order, the State Public Health Officer designated the food and agricultural sector as an essential critical infrastructure needed to help state, local, tribal and industry partners with the continuity of functions critical to public health and safety, as well as economic and national security.

Essential workers serve communities on the front lines and have an elevated risk of COVID-19 exposure. Therefore, there is a critical need for quick and accurate COVID-19 testing in the food processing industry.  Per Centers for Disease Control (CDC) research regarding Coronavirus Disease among Workers in Food Processing, Food Manufacturing, and Agriculture Workplaces, high-density workplaces can cause high risk for transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19).^1-3  Although the food processing industry is known for practicing good health and safety; several factors can contribute to transmission, including prolonged close contact with coworkers, congregate housing, shared transportation, and frequent community contact among workers. ^1,2 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. food processing, food manufacturing and agriculture workplaces employ approximately 3.6 million people.⁴ Multiple outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred in various food processing industry sectors across the nation, and per CDC findings, racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 due to occupational risk. Because of occupational segregation, people of color are often employed in an occupation that tends to be at a higher risk for occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities.⁷  With these working conditions, occupational disparities, and occupational exposures, it is critical that those employed in this industry follow all measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Increased access to testing is especially important as the demand for holiday food processing increases. Without these essential workers, the supply would not meet the needs of the consumer.

Oral-fluid swab testing is an alternative method to nasopharyngeal testing for COVID-19. The self-collected oral-fluid swab involves having the person cough first, releasing the virus from the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Once the virus is caught in the saliva, the patient then swabs the inside of their cheeks and the roofs of their mouths. When complete, the patient seals their test within a secure container and returns it to a medical professional to be delivered to Curative’s lab. The Curative test is administered without coming into close contact with others, eliminating the need for personal protective equipment changes.

Curative’s oral-fluid test is easy and painless, with 100% sensitivity, 100% specificity relative to the CDC assay. Results are delivered to patients within 24 to 48 hours of receipt of the sample from Curative’s labs.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) funding allow Curative to provide no-cost testing to the public. No-cost testing means that essential food processing workers can continue to test to protect workers and their families without copays or deductibles. 

To date, Curative has released more than 8 million test results and is processing around 150 thousand test kits per day with plenty of capacity. Curative manages the entire testing process end-to-end—from sourcing materials for the test and manufacturing the test to running the test sites, processing tests and delivering results. For more details on Curative, please visit www.curative.com.

References

1. Waltenburg  MA, Victoroff  T, Rose  CE, Butterfield  M, Jervis  RH, Fedak  KM, et al.; COVID-19 Response Team. COVID-19 Response Team. Update: COVID-19 among workers in meat and poultry processing facilities—United States, April–May 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69:887–92. DOI

2. Dyal  JW, Grant  MP, Broadwater  K, Bjork  A, Waltenburg  MA, Gibbins  JD, et al. COVID-19 among workers in meat and poultry processing facilities—19 States, April 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69:557–61. DOI

3. Baker  MG, Peckham  TK, Seixas  NS. Estimating the burden of United States workers exposed to infection or disease: A key factor in containing risk of COVID-19 infection. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0232452. DOI

4. United States Census Bureau. 2014–2018 American community survey 5-year public use microdata samples (PUMS). 2018 [cited 2020 Jul 31]. https://www.census.gov/acs/www/data/data-tables-and-tools/data-profiles/2018

5. Hawkins  D. Differential occupational risk for COVID-19 and other infection exposure according to race and ethnicity. Am J Ind Med. 2020;63:817–20. DOI

6. Artiga  S, Rae  M. The COVID-19 outbreak and food production workers: who is at risk? 2020 Jun 3 Kaiser Family Foundation [cited 2020 Nov 30]. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-covid-19-outbreak-and-food-production-workers-who-is-at-risk

7. Krieger N. Workers are people too: societal aspects of occupational health disparities—an ecosocial perspective. Am J Ind Med. 2010;53(2):104‐115.