Dermatitis in catering
Aim
To raise awareness of dermatitis, and to provide advice and support to the industry.
Justification
Dermatitis is the main cause of ill health in the hotel and catering sector, with an incident rate that outstrips the all-industry average by 3-fold (based on serious cases of dermatitis that get referred to a dermatologist). It is the only ill-health condition in this sector that exceeds the all industry average. Those most at risk of developing dermatitis are chefs/cooks and kitchen/catering assistants; the main causes are contact with foods and flour; wet work (eg washing up); and contact with soaps and cleaners (including frequent hand washing). Dermatitis can easily be prevented and should not be seen as ‘one of those things’ or ‘part of the job’. The controls required to prevent dermatitis are simple and entirely compatible with good food safety practice.
Audience/Industry
Catering staff (cooks, chefs, kitchen & catering assistants); staff in food retail where a significant amount of direct food handling/preparation is undertaken.
Messages
- Dermatitis is a significant health concern
- It is frequently caused or made worse by work, when it is known as work-related dermatitis
- Work-related dermatitis can be long-lasting and irreversible; it can affect all aspects of someone's life
- Work-related dermatitis can be prevented by following three simple steps, A, P, C:
- Avoid contact with materials that cause dermatitis;
- Protect the skin;
- Check for early signs of dermatitis.
- It is important to recognise work-related dermatitis at an early stage - don't ignore the signs
- Employers have a legal requirement to protect their employees health at work
- Employees have a legal responsibility to protect their own health at work
Activities required
- Raise awareness of dermatitis during inspections. A pilot exercise run in the Midlands has shown that this topic can readily be incorporated as an issue during food safety visits but this does not preclude it from being covered during health and safety inspections.
- Raise awareness through alternative interventions, such as running awareness days. Dermatitis alone may not be sufficient to get ‘take up’ of events, so consider combining dermatitis with other initiatives. Options for combining dermatitis with other subjects/events include adding a dermatitis in catering session to any ‘Safer Food, Better Business’ seminars (an FSA initiative) you may be running or running an event which covers dermatitis and another topic such as slips and trips.
- Funding from the LA S&T Initiative may be available for you to use if you need support from HSL. Details can be found on the Science and Technology support for LAs section of the Extranet, in particular the item on HSL facilities available to support proactive LA campaigns and programmes.
- This is an awareness-raising project so enforcement activity is not being sought, but there may be situations where enforcement action needs to be considered. In such situations, support from HSE’s Occupational Health Inspectors is available via your Partnership Team.
Timing
All year.
For information
Inspection guidance:
Further information on contact dermatitis can also be found on the HSE website:
Contact
catering@hse.gsi.gov.uk
