Food industry has among highest rates of work-related injury and death

A farm-to-table model which takes into account the “pathways and processes” in the food industry, namely food production, processing, distribution, storage, and retail, suggests that workers in these areas are more exposed to occupational hazards compared to workers in non-food industries. Based on statistics, food industry workers are more vulnerable to work-related illnesses, injuries and death.

Overall, food industry workers had a higher rate of occupational illness and injury: 60% higher than workers in non-food industries. Severe injuries requiring time off work were more than twice as frequent in the food industry.

Occupational deaths are rare, but the occurrence is 9.5 times higher than in other industries. For both illness/injuries and death, the increases were significant for nearly every area of the food industry. The exception was food service, which accounted for an estimated 59% of food industry jobs.

The study led by Kira L. Newman, BA, of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, also notes the causes of injuries in specific types of food industry jobs. For example, injuries due to slips, trips and falls were highest in the food processing, storage, and retail steps.

The farm-to-table model has been widely used in studying food-related microbial risks and disease outbreaks. This approach can also be useful in understanding occupational injury, illness and deaths as “hidden costs” of the modern food industry, according to the authors of the report.

“Applying the farm-to-table model within occupational health...can reshape the understanding of how market forces in the food industry may impact workers and consumers,” Ms Newman and colleagues said.

The authors consulted the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on occupational morbidity and mortality in food-related industries from 2008 to 2010. They said the study may help in pinpointing workplace hazards across the food industry. Their report will appear in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

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