Ingredion Brazil was recently included in an article by Forbes on the initiatives companies in Brazil are taking to support employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ingredion was one of seven companies highlighted in the article.

As a global company, Ingredion has maintained its operational activities throughout the pandemic, ensuring deliveries to customers, honoring established partnerships and supporting employees. The Company established a series of measures to help ensure continuity and production while keeping employees safe.

Ingredion Brazil was one of the first companies in the country to adopt a work from home policy in the face of the pandemic for 433 administrative employees and to offer paid leave to employees in the manufacturing plants that are over 60 and those with critical health conditions. For employees essential to the continued manufacturing of products, measures were established to create peace of mind, security and the necessary infrastructure for a safe work environment.

"Our priority at the moment is the safety of our people. We cannot forget, however, the responsibility to our communities and the importance of ensuring the supply of the industrial chains we serve. And so we continue, knowing that our main ingredient will always be our people," says Leopoldo Horle, president of Ingredion Brazil.

With this premise, the Company initiated the following procedures:

• Employees are scanned with digital temperature meters before entering the facility. If an employee registers a fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) after two tests they are accompanied by the occupational physician to receive medical assistance;
• Lunchtime has been extended, and the Company adopted individual cutlery and napkin packaging and increased spacing between chairs in the lunchroom as recommended by the World Health Organization;
• The Company intensified it's already high-quality level of cleaning to three times a day and increased the points of alcohol in gel sanitizer;
• All employees who work in the operations of the manufacturing plants in Brazil during the pandemic received a one-time payment of R$400; 
• The Company maintains a daily Crisis Committee, including the weekends, as well as daily communications on mental health, good practices, tips, courses and other topics;
• Food and dressing rooms are offered to truck drivers who go to the factories, all with maximum security; and
• The Company made a donation to the Global FoodBanking Network equivalent to 20 meals per employee – a total of 29,720 meals – in the region, as well as donating to local institutions and hospitals.

"In difficult times like this, we have to be even more attentive and look at the needs of our people, communities and operations. For this reason, we are working on a return plan for administrative employees who are now remote, which we hope can happen soon and with maximum safety and peace of mind for them and their families," explains André Stolf, vice president of operations, South America.