TOP THINGS

YOU MUST
KNOW IF YOU
WORK IN THE
FOOD &
DRINK
INDUSTRY
01324 474744
LIONSAFETY.CO.UK
 CONTENTS
Page 3- Occupational Hazards in the food processing industry
Page 4- Hazard Controls
Page 5- Machinery Hazards
Page 6- Prevention of injuries when working with machinery & equipment
Page 7- The basics of working with food
Occupational Hazards in the food processing industry

1. High Noise Levels

Machines used in the food processing industry often operate at high noise
levels, requiring frequent wash downs. It is important to know how many 

2. Musculoskeletal Disorders 
Like many jobs requiring repetitive motion, workers in the food processing
industry may be vulnerable to musculoskeletal disorders.

3. Slips, Trips, and Falls 

Again the frequent wash downs required by the food processing industry
create slippery surfaces that puts workers at risk for slips, trips and falls. 
Have a look at our solutions for slips, trips and falls at
www.lionsafety.co.uk/slips-trips-and-falls/.

4. Chemical Hazards
Food processing workers routinely utilize chemical soaps, detergents,
sanitizers, and disinfectants to help keep food free of unwanted
microorganisms and other contaminants.  Food processing also uses
refrigerants such as ammonia which can be highly dangerous even in small
quantities. 

5. Dangerous Equipment  
Machines used for food processing can place workers at risk for
amputations or other injuries unless organizations & safety officers focus
on ensuring proper machine guarding and Personal Protective Equipment.

6. Biological Hazards  
Unique to poultry processing, workers may be exposed to biological
hazards associated with the handling live birds or exposures to dust and
feces.

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 Hazard Controls for these Risks

To protect workers from harm, employers are required to establish engineering controls for
dangerous equipment, safety and emergency response programs.

Employees who will be working in a dangerous area or operating heavy machinery must be trained
and equipped with proper personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Walking & working surfaces must be assessed to prevent slips, trips and falls.

Common training for food processing industry workers includes:

Personnel Protective Equipment

Hazards of extreme temperatures (hot and cold)
Incident Investigation
Material Handling in compliance with OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (especially for
the chemicals listed above).
In addition to training, food safety professionals can also hold regular toolbox talks to brief
workers on the hazards that they may encounter while performing their daily tasks.

4
Machinery Hazards
The most common machinery hazards:
Entrapment – for example when fingers are caught in the moving parts of a machine
Impact– when workers are crushed by moving parts of equipment or by other items being processed by a machine
Contact – when the body comes into contact with sharp edges, hot parts or live electrical items
Entanglement -when clothing, hair or jewellery become caught in parts of a machine
Ejection – when workers are hit by parts or objects flying out or off machines

Machines used to clean, process, and package food are wrought with risks and hazards.

Workers face a number of hazards, including conveyors with moving or exposed parts, collapsing structures, falling objects, and
compressed equipment.

For all the dangers that come with high-tech machinery, a few risks are more common than most. Those include:

Machine guarding: Employers must provide guards to protect workers from moving and exposed parts.
Lockout/tagout: Machines and electrical equipment must be properly shut down, de-energized, and locked out during maintenance
and servicing; when proper precautions aren’t taken, workers face increased risk of burns and electrocution.
Loud noises: They might seem like a minor inconvenience, but loud noises may prevent communication between employees,
increasing the risk of injury.

Lockout/tagout violations are routinely among OSHA’s most-common citations every year.

Conveyors are common in the food processing and manufacturing industries, and visual communication can protect workers from hot
surfaces, exposed and moving parts, pressurized systems, and more.

Danger signs and labels communicate the most serious hazards, where death or serious injury will likely to occur if special
precautions aren't taken.

Warning signs and labels outline hazards that can result in death or serious injury—but only when the overall risk isn't severe
enough to warrant a "Danger" sign.

Caution signs describe hazards that may lead to minor or moderate injuries if not avoided.

Get in touch with us on 01324 474744 or sales@lionsafety.co.uk for your lockout/tagout & sign requirements.

5
 Preventing injuries when using work equipment or machines

Employers have a duty to take adequate steps to prevent injuries when using work equipment. Risks from work equipment can be
reduced in a number of ways. 

Carry out a risk assessment:

Before any work equipment or machinery is used or installed a risk assessment must be carried out. The purpose of the risk
assessment is to identify the hazards and risk of injury that may arise when using the work equipment. The risk assessment should
also identify ways in which the hazards and risk may be eliminated or reduced. 

Safety design and controls:

It is important that all work equipment has proper safety controls built-in to the design.
Well designed work equipment should have:
suitable operating controls that are easy to see and use
operating controls that prevent machines from being accidentally turned on
suitable emergency stop controls
‘fail to safety systems’ which prevent the machine operating if there is a fault
a way of disconnecting the equipment from it’s power source

Employer’s duty to provide suitable work equipment

Equipment should be well designed and suitable for the job.

When selecting new work equipment employers should:
obtain full information about the safe use of the equipment
ensure that the equipment has a CE safety mark to show that it complies with standards
arrange adequate training for using the equipment 

Guards on work equipment and machinery:

Where hazards from equipment cannot be avoided, employers should ensure that equipment has proper guards to prevent access
to moving or dangerous parts.
Types of guards used to prevent work equipment injury include:
guards fixed in place over dangerous parts of equipment
guards that prevent the machine working unless the guard is properly in place
barriers to keep people away from dangerous machinery or equipment

Safety procedures for work equipment

Safety procedures will depend upon the nature of the work and the equipment used.
Examples include:
ensuring that staff do not wear loose clothing or jewelry which may become caught in a machine
banning the consumption of alcohol and drugs by staff operating machinery
ensuring that only properly trained workers use work equipment
warning workers against tampering with any machine guards or other safety device
ensuring that workers maintain a clean and tidy workplace around machinery
instructing staff to report any faults or defects in work equipment

6
The Basics Working with food
When should you wash your hands?
- Before touching or handling any food
- After going to the toilet
- After breaks
- After touching raw meat, poultry, fish, eggs or unwashed vegetables
- After touching a cut or changing a dressing.
- After touching or emptying bins.
- After any cleaning
- After touching phones, light switches, door handles, cash registers & money

Remove jewelry and watches Wear gloves when Wear hairnets, caps or Wear an apron
handling food beard snoods.

Wear clean clothes Don't touch face, sneeze or Do not eat, drink or smoke  Cover cuts with brightly
cough over food coloured, food safe plasters.

7
 01324 474744
sales@lionsafety.co.uk