The 'Recipe for Safety' initiative

The 'Recipe for Safety' initiative started in the early 1990's following the Health and Safety Commission's concern that injury rates in the food and drink industries were too high.

HSE's Food Section held meetings with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and the main food industry trade unions (GMB, USDAW, T&G and BFAWU) to progress health and safety issues. This liaison also led to a written agreement known as the 'Common Strategy' which set out targets for injury reductions and actions each party would take to achieve these targets.

In 2004 liaison was considerably extended, to encompass most food/drink industries, with the formation of the Food and Drink Manufacture Health and Safety Forum. This Forum is driving forward a range of priority health and safety issues to further reduce the main causes of injury and occupational ill health. Forum members revised the 'Common Strategy' document which sets out actions each party will undertake to further progress the 'Recipe for Safety' initiative.

The revised 'Recipe for Safety' booklet is the core publication of the initiative. This booklet sets out the priority health and safety issues for the food and drink industries, gives benchmarks for performance, suggests how the issues can be tackled and includes a management action plan. The booklet is supported by over 40 HSE information sheets and booklets specific to the food and drink industries.

Success of the 'Recipe for Safety' initiative

Since the initiative started in 1990/91, by 2007/08 (provisional figures) the:

• fatal injuries/year figure has dropped by 70%
• total number of injuries has dropped by 60% (from 14,435 to 5744 injuries/year)
• all-injury incidence rate has dropped by 50%
• all-injury incidence rates in major food sectors have dropped significantly over a decade (e.g. dairies 22%, bakeries 48% and meat/poultry processing 67%)
• major injury rate (broken bones etc.) has dropped by 33% since 1996 (when RIDDOR 95 came into operation)
• injury rate at 2 targeted groups of 'high injury rate' food manufacturing sites dropped by 33% and 50%
• similar injury rate reductions were achieved at individual production sites through management and safety representatives working together.

By continuing with the 'Recipe for Safety' partnership between HSE and the food and drink industries it is hoped these successes will continue.

Overall injury rate (food & drink manufacture):50% injury rate drop from 1990/91-2007/08

Note: Recipe for Safety initiative started 1990

Major injury rate (food & drink manufacture):33% drop in 12 yrs. (since RIDDOR 95)