20 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com
By Linda Johnson
A
s consumers, many
of us tend to take for
granted the foods
we find in our local
grocery store. But for
the companies that
produce those foods, worker safety
can never be taken for granted. From
physical injuries to mental health con-
cerns, processing plants can present a
wide range of hazards.
A frequent hazard is slips. At Gay
Lea Foods Co-operative, an Ontario
dairy product manufacturer, some
areas are always wet and slippery.
Floors and equipment are often
washed and hosed with sanitizer, and
staff have to be vigilant to the danger
of slips and falls, says Henry Grbac,
director of occupational health, safety,
environment and sustainability at the
Mississauga, Ont., company.
Employers in this indus-
try also have to protect
against cuts and bruises
caused by sharp knives and
equipment, as well as burns
caused by contact with
steam or chemicals.
"The chemical ones can
be controlled, and they
shouldn't happen. Are
employees wearing their PPE (per-
sonal protective equipment), gloves
and face shield? But sometimes, a
pipe might break, or someone is fixing
something and if there's a failure in
the system, a person can get some kind
of backsplash," says Grbac.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
are common throughout the industry.
Most of the accidents or injuries
at Freybe Gourmet Foods in Langley,
B.C. — which produces sausages and
deli meats — arise from ergonomic
situations: lifting, repetitive move-
ment and strain, says president and
CEO Sven Freybe.
In fact, ergonomic design is a major
issue in the industry, he adds.
"We try to have as new equipment
as possible, and what we buy is stain-
less steel," he says. "But the challenge
is the way the machines were designed
10, 15 or 20 years ago. They didn't
have ergonomics in mind. So we have
a lot of those injuries."
Workers in the food processing
industry can be liable to cognitive
hazards, says Rodola Sibuma-Gomez,
a key account manager with Work-
place Safety and Prevention Services
(WSPS) in Mississauga, Ont.
Some companies may have a quota
and be striving to produce a certain
number of products by a deadline. In
other cases, working on a conveyor belt
may impose accuracy and speed require-
ments that can be difficult to meet.
"In chicken plants, there's an accu-
racy standard you must meet, or you
could cut off a finger. Often, you have
to take the wing off precisely and if
you don't, you get sent home; you are
let go," she says.
"There's a certain stress level in
Producing
safe
food
safely
Working on slippery surfaces,
handling sharp knives
and meeting daily quotas
can pose OHS concerns
