Chocolate and sugar confectionery manufacture
Injury rate comparisons
Injury incidence rates (ie injuries per 100,000 workers per year) averaged for the three years 2005/06-2007/08 are as follows:
- Chocolate and sugar confectionery: 1083
- All food and drink industry average: 1470
- All manufacturing industry average: 913
There are around 30 different food and drink manufacturing industries. View a comparison graph of all injuries.
Main causes of injury
- Manual handling and lifting - especially heavy loads or sharp edges
- Slips - mostly due to wet or contaminated floors
- Being struck by objects - mostly falling packages, sometimes hand tools
- Striking against fixed or moveable objects, eg plant or stationary vehicles
- Machinery - mainly conveyors but also packaging machines etc
- Exposure to harmful substances - burns and scalds from carrying open containers of hot product, manual dispensing of caustic cleaners etc.
Main occupational ill health risks
- Musculoskeletal injury from manual handling boxes, containers etc
- Work-related upper limb disorders (WRULDs), eg from repetitive packing work
- Noise induced hearing loss from noisy machinery, eg hopper feeds, mould shakers, packaging machinery
Industry specific guidance
