Food & Drink /
Rising to the Coronavirus Challenge
London-based supplier Dina Foods is seeing high order volumes from its retailer customers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
There has been a very significant increase in orders for its staple bakery products, with its convenient two-layered Paninette® flatbread particularly in demand.
A spike in orders on the bakery side of the business has been offset by a drop on the foodservice side, and for savoury products. Production staff have moved from savoury production to the busier bakery production lines.
Dina Foods has a stable and loyal workforce of around 150 staff, and everyone is pulling together to keep the business running smoothly, said Assistant General Manager and Project Director Wilda Haddad.
“We are pushing full steam ahead and we would like to thank our staff for everything they are doing at this difficult time. Many are managing different roles in new areas or covering for colleagues. We would also like to thank our suppliers.”
Dina Foods’ procurement teams are speaking to suppliers regularly to ensure that they are up to date with current availability and aware of any alternatives if it becomes necessary to substitute ingredients required for production of its ranges, she said.
Wilda Haddad said the family-run company is taking every day as it comes in the current COVID-19 crisis, with the safety of its staff prioritised.
While non-operational staff are working from home, the vast majority are required on the premises in order to keep production lines running smoothly.
Dina Foods is safeguarding these staff with a range of measures including stepping up the rigorous hygiene procedures already in place, and ensuring all cooking, disinfection and staff hygiene processes are being rigorously followed.
Dina has applied the two-metre distancing measures as far as possible and increased the PPE for staff in the production areas.
It is keeping staff up to date with the latest information from the UK Government and World Health Organisation, using methods including posters around the premises.
New systems implemented include temperature checks of all staff on entry to the premises daily. The company have enhanced measures to restrict visitor access with only crucial visits from contractors allowed and have implemented a heightened programme on return to work controls.
Wilda Haddad said: “These are difficult times for everyone and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that we keep our systems running smoothly, thanks to the support of our staff, suppliers and our customers.”
