On this page you will find the latest health and safety information, news and links. For information published on the live issues page from previous years, please go to the Live issues archive.
The Food and Drink Manufacture Health and Safety Forum has revised its working document 'A common strategy for improving health and safety in the food and drink manufacturing industries'. This document was originally drawn up between the HSE, the Food and Drink Federation and trades unions almost 20 years ago and was re-written in 2004 when the Forum came into existence. This latest revision has been a year in preparation and was agreed at a regular meeting of Forum members in October 2011. The Strategy sets out the challenges, objectives, progress to date and proposed action/targets that each Forum partner will undertake to further improve health and safety in the industry.
The following cases are among many HSE prosecutions that have recently come to court. The first two involve fatalities to workers.
Two recent accidents have highlighted the risks posed by entanglement on rotating parts of machines. In the first incident, a cleaning operative lost two fingers in a potato processing machine. The worker was reaching inside an outlet pipe to remove a piece of raw potato when he touched a rotating screw, which severed the first two fingers on his left hand. An HSE investigation into the incident found the guard on the machine had not been maintained properly.
The company, which supplies cooked potato ingredients to manufacturers of prepared foods, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £10,000 with £5,614 costs. The investigating HSE inspector said "This was a very serious incident, which was entirely preventable. Companies must ensure that they have robust procedures in place to provide and maintain suitable, effective guarding".
In the second incident, a worker was making a new metal part for a baked bean packaging machine when he suffered serious injuries to his left hand. The worker was using emery cloth to polish the component on a metal-working machine while it was rotating, when his gloved hand was pulled in. The 65 year-old worker lost his index finger, suffered severe nerve damage to two other fingers and received deep cuts to his hand. An HSE investigation into the incident found that an alternative safe way to polish the metal component could have been used.
The company pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences after it failed to carry out a risk assessment for the work or to provide adequate training. The court imposed a fine of £20,000 along with £4,496 costs. The investigating HSE inspector said "The risk of emery cloth being pulled into rotating metalworking machines is well known. The company failed to assess the risks of the work and make sure suitable safety measures were in place".
Disinfectants used to control food contamination by micro-organisms are biocidal chemicals classified as hazardous substances. Although disinfectants used in the food and drink industries are especially selected so that potential residues left on surfaces etc do not taint the food or are harmful to the consumer, many affect the skin, eyes or respiratory system and can be harmful if ingested in sufficient quantity.
Disinfectants commonly used in food and drink manufacture (and catering) include:
Guidance on controlling exposure to disinfectants used in the food and drink industries
A pet food company was fined after five workers suffered severe burns to their faces, arms and hands when a steam pressure system malfunctioned. The five men were all working on the maintenance of a hydrostat, a high-pressure food-processing machine, when they were hit by an uncontrolled release of steam and boiling water. The HSE investigation found the hydrostat control systems had been replaced prior to the maintenance work but no proper assessment of the risks associated with these modifications was undertaken. The company was fined £50,000 with £22,634 costs for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and Regulation 13 of the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000.
A Stonehaven animal grain company has been fined after a mill operative preparing animal feed fell five feet from an excavator bucket onto a concrete floor, sustaining head injuries. The HSE investigation found that there was no safe system of work in place for preparing the specialist mix. The investigation also revealed that the company had not carried out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks involved because this was a task that was required only occasionally. The company was fined £4,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc 1974 Act.
The risks of working at height are well known, and free guidance on working safety at height is available at the HSE website:
In March 2011 the Government launched 'Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone' which announced plans for the reform of health and safety in Britain. HSE's workplace inspection plan for 2011/12 recognises this document and greater emphasis will be placed on:
To help control these issues, food and drink manufacturers should continue to address the main causes of injury and occupational ill health through sensible and proportionate risk management.
A food processing company has been prosecuted for safety failings after an employee broke his leg when he was struck by a forklift truck. Colchester Magistrates Court heard how a machine operator was struck from behind by a forklift truck carrying a full pallet of boxed rice flour. The HSE investigation found that the movement of pallets in the packing area was inherently unsafe as it involved the unnecessary use of a forklift truck in a heavily congested work area, which limited the driver's vision. The area did not have adequately segregated routes separating pedestrians and vehicles. The company was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £3,214 in costs.
Although there is a steady year-on-year reduction in injury rates in food and drink manufacture, HSE inspectors still come across situations requiring companies and individuals to appear in court.
Some recent court appearances which followed injuries to workers includes:
These cases highlight a number of areas where companies need to monitor safety issues, particularly in machinery safeguarding.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published a report in 2010 following its inquiry into recruitment and employment in the meat and poultry processing sector. The report revealed evidence of mistreatment and exploitation of migrant and agency workers in the sector, and made recommendations to the key bodies - supermarkets, agencies, processing firms, government, regulators and unions. EHRC anticipates the report will encourage a systemic change of behaviour and will be following up its recommendations this year. During 2011/12 HSE inspectors will continue to look into the working conditions highlighted in the report during inspection visits.
A manufacturer of kebab meat 'towers' has been fined after workers were found using machines designed to skin, cut and mince frozen chunks of meat without the proper safety guards in place.
Bury St Edmunds Magistrates' Court heard how HSE served six prohibition notices between March 2009 and May 2010, ordering the company to stop using a skinning machine, a meat pre-breaker/reducer and a bowl mixer until the appropriate protective devices and guards were fitted and maintained in working order. However the company failed to ensure this work was carried out and it took significant and ongoing intervention by the HSE to prevent the unsafe machines from being used.
A director of the company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs, in addition the company was fined £5,000. The investigating HSE inspector said "HSE will proactively prosecute any company exposing workers to these unnecessary risks."
