On this page you will find the latest health and safety information, news and links.
(16 June 2008)
A workshop 'Slips prevention: a recipe for action' will be held in Cardiff on Tuesday 15 July 2008 between 0930-1330. This free event for 60 delegates and will concentrate on how to manage slips prevention in food and drink factories and how to control them.
(19 May 2008)
Work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) - usually upper limb, neck and back problems - are a significant problem in food and drink manufacture comprising almost 60% of the cases of occupational ill health. A Quick Exposure Check (QEC) is a practical tool for individual physical work activities to be assessed in collaboration with the worker. It has been designed to be quick (3 pages), easy to use and does not require extensive training before use.
More detailed guidance on work related upper limb disorders (WRULDs) can be found in HSE publication:
(16 April 2008)
Sponsored by the IOSH Food and Drink Group, these awards recognise innovative projects that have produced a practical solution to, and made a positive impact on, a health and safety problem in the food or drink manufacturing sector. The awards are supported by the Food and Drink Manufacture H&S Forum which includes food and drink trade associations, TUC and HSE.
The competition is open to anyone working in the food and drink manufacturing industries and will be judged by representatives from IOSH, the HSE, the Food and Drink Federation and the TUC. The winning individual or team will receive a trophy and £500, the two runners-up will each receive a framed certificate and £250.
(14 April 2008)
HSE has opened a new website 'Working in GB from overseas' providing guidance for employers and workers. The site aims to help protect vulnerable workers by capturing in one place the increasing amount of key guidance and essential information available. The webpages have been developed to help migrant workers understand their rights and responsibilities. They also explain what employers need to do to manage the health and safety of this group of workers.
This new website compliments existing HSE guidance booklet 'Guidance for employers in agriculture and food processing' and guidance produced by the food manufacturing industry 'Working safely in a multicultural food and drink industry'.
25 March 2008
Analysis by HSE of over 6000 injuries during 2006/07 reveals that 35% of the injuries resulted from manual handling and 28% from slips and trips (mostly slips). Although machinery was only involved in 8% of injuries, falls from height 3% and hit by vehicles 1%, these classes of accident were often severe or even fatal.
Over the last 10 years there have been 35 fatal injuries, excluding contractors. The main causes of fatal injury are machinery (>30% of fatalities), workplace transport (>25%), falls from height (>20%) and confined spaces/asphyxiation (>10%). One particular cause of concern is workers entering machines for cleaning or maintenance purposes and being trapped when the machine starts unexpectedly, this can be prevented if a safe system of work with lock-off procedures is in place.
3 March 2008
A number of workers in the popcorn industry in the USA have developed severe lung disease after inhaling fumes from a flavouring agent known as diacetyl (2-3-butanedione) which imparts a butter flavour to food. In its pure form diacetyl is a green-yellow coloured liquid which gives off fumes, especially when heated. Although safe for humans when eaten in the small amounts permitted in the final food product, workers mixing the liquid in concentrated bulk form before adding to foodstuffs can be exposed to vapour that is extremely irritating to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. In some cases permanent lung damage may occur when the small airways in the lungs become blocked by inflammation.
The extent of diacetyl use for flavouring food and drink products in GB is uncertain. Where it is used, worker exposure to fumes must be controlled in accordance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations. Under these regulations there is a hierarchy of control - (1) substitution with a safer chemical where possible, (2) containment within sealed plant, (3) effective fume extraction and, if none of these are possible, then goggles and suitable respiratory protective equipment. In addition workers handling diacetyl need to be informed of the hazards/risks and be provided with appropriate training.
11 February 2008
From April 2008 HSE inspectors will be looking particularly at the following industries, as these have the higher injury rates:
HSE visits to food and drink manufacturing sites will concentrate particularly on:
Other topics covered at HSE visits during 2008/09 may include:
3 December 2007
HSE has launched a new edition of the popular guidance to help managers, supervisors and those with other health and safety interests in warehouses and storage facilities. It will also be useful to employees and safety representatives.
The storage and warehousing industry reports approximately 5000 work-related injuries annually to HSE and local authorities. More than 600 of these are classified as major injuries such as fractures and amputations. The guide provides advice on preventing the main causes of injuries and occupational ill health and gives guidance on storage systems, mechanical handling and electrical safety.
2 November 2007
On 1 November HSE published the latest HSE statistics on workplace injuries, work-related ill health and enforcement in GB. This latest release of statistics for 2006/07 presents the top level key figures, including reports on injuries by category, an overview of ill health causation, figures on working days lost, enforcement statistics and progress against health and safety targets.
The statistics show that, in food and drink manufacture, there have been further significant reductions in injuries during 2006/07. The overall injury incidence rate (i.e. injuries per 100,000 workers) fell by 11% in 2006/07 and the 'major' injury rate (eg broken bones or requiring hospitalisation) fell by 10.3%. This has resulted in:
These very significant and consistent year-on-year injury reductions are due to the considerable effort made by the industry since the joint HSE/food industry Recipe for Safety initiative commenced in 1990/91. This initiative is supported and steered by the Food Manufacture Health and Safety Forum.
15 October 2007
Occupational rehabilitation - sometimes referred to as managing sickness absence and return to work (or managing attendance) - has become an essential part of running an efficient business. Long-term sickness absence (often defined as 4 weeks or more):
But this need not be the case. Considerable benefits can be delivered from working in partnership with employees and trade union representatives when managing sickness absence and return to work. In particular, organisations that have implemented effective management programmes have:
17 September 2007
HSE published the third edition of the successful booklet 'A recipe for safety: Occupational health and safety in food and drink manufacture' exactly three years ago. Anyone with health and safety responsibilities who does not yet have a copy of this core guidance will find it extremely useful. The booklet sets out the priority health and safety risks, provides benchmarks against which to measure performance, includes a management action plan and provides easy-to-read statistics on causes of occupational health and injuries.
The booklet is an integral part of the joint HSE/food industry Recipe for Safety initiative. Contributors and reviewers of this booklet include members of the Food and drink manufacture health and safety forum.
'A recipe for safety: Occupational health and safety in food and drink manufacture' HSG252 (£9.95 for single copies) is available from HSE Books.
20 August 2007
HSE has published new guidance on the prevention of dust explosions. Such explosions can have devastating effects and can be caused by dust from flour, sugar, grain, milk powder, instant coffee etc.. The guidance sets out precautions to protect against dust explosions and covers various processes and plant.
Additionally, guidance is given on the selection of suitable vacuum cleaners for use with such foods, for example for cleaning floors in bakeries.
23 July 2007
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), working with HSE and ACAS, have launched a free online toolkit to help managers with absence management. The toolkit is aimed principally at line managers working in small and medium sized enterprises, but will also be of interest to those working in larger organisations.
Research shows that where line managers have training in absence management, there is a decrease in sickness absence rates. However, many small and medium sized enterprises provide very little or no training to line managers and therefore fail to get the benefits of effective absence management.
The toolkit provides a wealth of information on absence management practices and procedures that line managers can pick and choose information from. It is split into four parts to help managers:
6 June 2007
Previous work carried out by the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) for HSE investigated the slip resistance of certain brands/styles of occupational footwear. Further research has now been completed by HSL which assesses a wider range of brands and styles in order to help companies provide appropriate footwear for their workers. However laboratory tests alone are not sufficient to enable selection of the best footwear for a particular environment and the test results from the latest HSL report (link below) should be supported by user field trials.
(16 March 2007)
HSE has produced new technical guidance on assessing the slip resistance of flooring. The guidance considers a number of test methods for assessing floor slip resistance and is intended for manufacturers and testing bodies which need to perform accurate measurements to help determine slip risk. The new guidance replaces Food Information Sheet 22.
(12 March 2007)
In June 2006, the Food & Drink industry conducted a major survey across the various trade sectors of the industry as a follow up to the HSE Backs! 2005 initiative. The objective behind the survey, which was coordinated by the Food Manufacture Health and Safety Forum, was to:
The Survey Findings and Working Examples are now available for all interested parties; these illustrate key issues in both preventing and managing situations where back injuries are prevalent.
The survey findings have set a baseline injury incidence rate for the Food and Drinks sector as a whole, and for the sectors that took part in the survey. This will enable companies and employers to review their activities alongside best practice approaches found within the survey and working practice examples.
The survey findings have helped identify what action is being taken around key issues such as Occupational Health involvement, rehabilitation, employee involvement and job rotation. In addition, it indicates where there is a real need to consider raw material delivery weights and finished goods weight and design in conjunction with suppliers and customers.
(1 March 2007)
The HSE Slips Assessment Tool (SAT) is a freely downloadable computer software package that allows an operator to assess the slip potential of pedestrian walkway surfaces. The SAT is used in conjunction with a small, portable surface micro-roughness meter, which users must obtain separately.
The package is easy to use and prompts the operator to gather relevant information concerning floor surface properties, contamination, cleaning regimes, footwear etc. When all of the information has been entered into the package, a slip risk rating is produced. This will assist the user in determining whether site conditions are likely to give rise to a high or low risk of slipping. The assessment may then be repeated using alternative data such as a different cleaning regime or footwear type etc. to produce a different (theoretical) slip risk rating. This is a powerful way of demonstrating the importance of various slip risk control measures.
The data can either be entered into a laptop computer (preloaded with the SAT software) on site for an immediate assessment of slip risk, or can be recorded on site using a proforma and entered into a PC later.
(20 February 2007)
HSE has published guidance on BSE for those whose job could expose them to potentially BSE-infected material. The guidance re-emphasises the importance of using precautionary protective measures to control the risk from BSE infection.
The guidance will be helpful in developing workplace codes of practice for the safe conduct of work. Based on the most up-to-date knowledge, if followed it is considered that workers will have a negligible risk of being exposed to BSE infection.
(10 February 2007)
Compared to accidents and injuries in the workplace, health conditions are often more difficult to diagnose and therefore measure. Health conditions tend to develop over time and may also be influenced by non-work factors. This applies particularly to conditions such as back-pain and mental health disorders such as depression.
Occupational Physicians in the food industry have measured the incidence of medical conditions caused by work at their company sites. From these studies it is possible to conclude that, in a food manufacturing site employing 1000 people, the following conditions caused by work are likely to be seen:
There is also evidence from two surveys covering the periods 1997-2001 and 2002-2006 that the number of cases of ULDs, occupational dermatitis, occupational asthma, back pain and mental health disorders are falling from the rates above. For example, there is the suggestion that cases of ULDs and occupational dermatitis may have halved between the two survey periods.
(The above data was collected from larger companies with in-house Occupational Health Departments and may not represent all sectors of the industry.)
(23 June 2006)
Cauldron Foods Ltd was fined a total of £7500 and required to pay £1692 costs after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences under Regulation 12(3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations. On 17 January 2006 an employee at the company's Portishead site in Bristol slipped at the doorway of a freezer and suffered a twisted ankle which he reported to the company. Two days later he slipped again at the doorway of another freezer and fractured his ankle. In both instances the freezer doors had not been maintained and damaged door seals and damaged floors had allowed water vapour to freeze on the floor both inside and immediately outside the doors. The risks associated with ice build-up at freezer doors and employees slipping on that ice had been known to the company for over a year.
Following the accidents the freezers were replaced with new models. The company has recently been bought by Premier Foods which has injected money to significantly improve the site and has made strides to significantly improve the site's health and safety performance.
(3 May 2006)
Kentucky Fried Chicken (Great Britain) Ltd was fined a total of £60,000 plus costs after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences. Two employees at KFC's Northenden, Manchester restaurant suffered horrific burns in an accident in May 2004. While cleaning the shop, one employee slipped on a part-tiled floor, thought to be contaminated with cooking oil and water. As he slipped he instinctively reached out and pulled over a deep fat fryer which held 35 litres of hot oil. The employee was covered in oil and suffered extensive burns to his legs, buttocks and chest requiring skin grafts. A second worker received splash burns to her leg which also required skin grafts. A third worker suffered minor burns while attempting rescue.
The Judge found that KFC failed to keep the kitchen floor free from oil and water contamination, and that poor maintenance, poor cleaning, poor footwear and poor slip resistance of the floor tiles had the combined effect of increasing the likelihood of a slipping accident. KFC has since taken measures to prevent slip and trip accidents at their stores nationwide. These include improvements in the flooring, improved cleaning regimes and the introduction of slip-resistant footwear.
In food manufacture, slip and trip injuries comprise 37% of major injuries and 30% of all injuries reported to HSE.
(22 December 2005, revised 20 January 2006)
Composite sandwich panels are used extensively for wall, roof and false ceiling construction in food factories and other large commercial structures and provide thermal/fire resistance and a hygienic cleanable surface. The panels comprise an insulating core sandwiched between two thin steel sheets. The most common core materials are mineral fibre, polystyrene and polyurethane. Panels used for ceilings may allow restricted 'walk-on' access for maintenance etc., subject to safety criteria set out by the manufacturer.
HSE has investigated incidents in which workers have fallen through composite sandwich panel ceilings. Investigations have revealed incorrect installation, overloading and weakening by previous walk-on events as factors.
Checks should be made where such panels are installed as a suspended ceiling or roof cladding, and where access across them to plant or for maintenance etc. is required.
In particular:
Some panels are described as having a load bearing capacity of '1 man + 1 toolbox per panel for occasional access'. Occasional access is not defined and this load bearing criteria may lead to complacency in risk assessing safe design at installation and for subsequent maintenance operations. The accurate load bearing capacity of a particular panel must be sought from the manufacturer as the actual performance of different types of panels can vary greatly.
(3 November 2005, updated 10/4/06)
Avian influenza is a virus that causes disease in birds, including poultry (chicken, duck, goose, turkey etc.). The Avian influenza A subtype H5N1is a highly pathogenic strain of the virus that has been confirmed in poultry populations across Asia, Russia and some southern European countries. The disease can (rarely) be transmitted to humans and there is also concern that it could recombine with seasonal influenza virus to create a new and potentially pandemic human flu strain.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) advises that infected birds excrete the H5N1 virus in their saliva and faeces and such a highly pathogenic virus spreads to all parts of an infected bird, including the meat and both the inside and surface of eggs. The virus can survive in faeces (eg on eggs) for at least 35 days at low temperature (4°C) and for at least 6 days at higher temperature (37°C), and on rough surfaces for several weeks.
WHO advises that in industrial production settings, under strict veterinary control, diseased poultry would not enter the food-chain; the likelihood of infected poultry being marketed is therefore considered very low. However, this risk might increase given the ability of at least some poultry to carry the virus without showing overt symptoms of disease. If this were the case, there would be a risk to workers involved in slaughtering and handling fresh or frozen poultry (in general low temperatures maintain the viability of the virus) or handling eggs.
HSE has published guidance on precautions to be taken where birds are suspected of having avian flu
WHO recommendations for good hygiene practice to reduce exposure to the virus when handling poultry meat or eggs include:
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) also gives advice on avian flu with regard to food preparation and consumption.