Millions of Americans are employed in growing, producing, cooking, and serving food. Despite their importance to the economy and to our daily lives, these workers and the hazards they face remain largely invisible. The issues do not command the attention paid to other large employment sectors or to food safety issues.

This Compliance Report addresses food-worker risks and some of the initiatives and innovations involved in reducing them.

Who’s at risk and what are the dangers?

About 8–10 percent of U.S. workers are employed in restaurants. And around one percent of employees work to convert agricultural products into food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meat and poultry plants employ the largest percentage of food and beverage manufacturing workers, followed by bakeries, and fruit and vegetable processing plants.

The rate of injury for food production workers is significantly higher than for workers in general industry—about 5 injuries for every 100 full-time food production workers compared with 4.3 injuries per 100 full-time general industry workers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that the total estimated direct and indirect cost for food-manufacturing worker injuries exceeds $1.4 billion. Lost time injuries cost an average of $76,000 each.

The list of hazards is long. Among risks faced by food production workers are back injuries and muscle strains, slips and falls, and chemical exposures. Top hazards for restaurant and food service employees also include lacerations, burns, violence, standing for long periods of time, and contact with the public.

Serving up solutions

Tom Metzner is a senior loss control consultant for the insurance broker Lockton Companies. He helps restaurant clients (from fast food to fine dining) identify and mitigate potential risk and exposure.

The problem of slips and falls is persistent. One solution that’s gaining popularity is use of enzyme-based floor cleaners that are activated by mixing them with cold water. These products, made by a number of chemical companies, basically eat away at the grease, leaving floors less slippery.

Another challenge involves slip-resistant shoes, which are often mandated by employers and, according to Metzner, are successful. “While many fast food restaurants consider the shoes part of their uniform policy, they don’t address the issue of pants that are too long. When employees in slip-resistant shoes are walking on the hems of their pants you’ve lost contact between the floor and the shoes,” he explains.

Clear plastic condiment container lids present hazards as well. When diners cast these onto the floor, they become a nearly invisible slip hazard, putting both employees and customers at risk.

Metzner helps clients address other exposures, including strain injuries (set a limit on the weight of boxes a single employee is allowed to lift) and struck-by or against injuries (encourage employees to slow down and make sure oven doors are closed). He’s also been focusing on reducing motor vehicle hazards for those who drive in the scope of business, such as district, regional, or general managers. Metzner says that while it can be tough to get restaurant managers to focus on driving hazards, that changes once they understand the seriousness of the problem.

While vehicle accidents are not a frequent occurrence in the restaurant industry, the problem is the severity of incidents when they do occur. These cases often involve the thorny legal issue of negligent entrustment, which occurs when an unlicensed or incompetent driver causes injury to a third party while driving the vehicle of someone else, such as the owner or manager, who is held liable for negligence.

Metzner encourages restaurant owners to develop a fleet safety program that includes motor vehicle record checks and written criteria that specify what constitutes an acceptable driving record. 

Changing behavior, changing culture

When it comes to safety awareness, Metzner advises clients that the general manager or store manager must set the tone. That’s why he encourages managers to comment on unsafe behaviors on the spot.

If the manager notices an employee using a shortcut or other risky behavior and fails to comment, the assumption is “silent approval.” That encourages the employee to take more shortcuts. Metzner applies the now-familiar security slogan, “If you see something, say something.” And he notes that the corollary is also true. If a manager sees safe behavior it is his or her duty to comment on that, as well.

Managers, especially of fast-food restaurants, must be aware of particular risks facing young workers. Younger employees and those with limited time on the job are at particular risk for injury. Metzner describes a situation that illustrates what can happen when an employee is lacking in experience and judgement. A young worker sees an older, more experienced employee performing an unapproved but common work practice, such as emptying grease from a fryer into a plastic bucket.

The experienced worker knows that in order to make this work the grease must be hot enough to pour, but cool enough to not melt the bucket. The new worker does not understand this and imitates the behavior while the grease is still hot. The bucket melts and the employee is exposed to, and possibly burned by, hot grease.

OSHA has developed an information and training module that addresses young worker safety issues. It is available on the agency website at https://www.osha.gov/youngworkers.

Kevin T. Higgins, managing editor of Food Processing magazine, believes that protecting high-risk food workers of any ages comes down to culture. While he sees a “slow, steady decline” in injury and fatality rates, 46 food workers died in the United States in 2013, and nearly 80,000 employed in the food, beverage, and tobacco sector were injured enough to require time away from work.

“Breeches in workplace safety don’t generate the costs or negative publicity of a food safety event, but the dollars and cents are significant,” says Higgins. He sees employers increasingly understanding the need for formal safety programs. Depending on the type of operation, they’re also buying protective gear like gloves, safety shoes, hard hats, and fire-resistant clothing to guard against arc flash.

Fighting the good fight

A California nonprofit known as AgSafe encourages food and agriculture employers to use best practices to protect their workers. The organization’s annual awards program, All Ways Safe, is a collaborative effort between AgSafe and DuPont Crop Protection. The program honors businesses and individuals that commit to ensure the safety and health of their agricultural workers.

AgSafe president and CEO Amy Wolfe explains that the organization takes a “boots on the ground” approach to providing training and resources for all levels of agriculture and food production businesses.

AgSafe, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, cooperates closely with Cal/OSHA. While it is not a regulatory organization, the group helps employers understand and follow regulated and nonregulated hazards.

Ocean Mist Farms was a 2013 AgSafe award winner. Workers’ compensation/safety manager Loreana Medina and HR director Gladys Valenzuela-Corzo describe their company’s pride in its concern for employee well-being. Ocean Mist Farms is the largest grower of fresh artichokes in the United States. Headquartered in Castroville, California, the company also grows a variety of other vegetables at locations in California, Arizona, and Mexico. Ocean Mist employs about 200, but 1,000 are on the payrolls of the company’s seven partner businesses, primarily involved in growing, harvesting, and distribution.

“Employee health and safety is vital to the success of the company,” explains Medina. “We have strong loyalty, with average employee tenure of 10-15 years or more. That says a lot about the respect they receive here.”

Ocean Mist Farms is committed to providing the best and safest work environment, following the rules established by Cal/OSHA and other regulators, and going beyond what’s required to ensure health and wellness. A strong Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP) addresses risks, including warehouse work, forklift operation, and ammonia-based refrigeration systems.

According to Valenzuela-Corzo, one of the company’s most important safety initiatives is the annual, seasonal (late March through late October) training orientation, which takes place over 1 to 2 days.

The combined safety/HR orientation covers all required topics as well as sexual harassment prevention, CPR, company policies and procedures, and instruction for those who require certification.

The idea is to make the content relevant to the specific jobs Ocean Mist workers perform. Training is interactive and is delivered live by external and internal experts, including a safety specialist assigned to the Castroville location. Although all employees speak English, training handouts are available in English and Spanish.

Open door policy

The company’s open door policy encourages employees to report safety concerns and make suggestions. As a result, employees feel comfortable discussing incidents or potential hazards that could affect people or property. Anonymous reporting is available for those who prefer it.

Top-level commitment is robust. The company president/CEO and a representative from each of the partner businesses sit on a safety board. This group meets monthly to address incidents and their impact, accident trends, claims, and losses. Indicative of executive-level support is a generous and unquestioned safety budget.

The safety board recently approved adoption of a new safety management system known as Intelex. The system will streamline processes, data collection, and dashboard capability. Ocean Mist Farms is “big on metrics,” according to Medina, and believes in sharing information with partner businesses and employees.

Traditional safety and health initiatives are augmented by an active employee wellness program. Elements include health risk assessments, biometric screenings, an on-site gym, and healthy cooking demonstrations. Employees participate in educational sessions on topics like healthy eating, fitness, weight management, and stress. The company subsidizes activities, including local foot races.

Safe and healthy in the heartland

Competition of a different type is a safety motivation for the Midwest Food Processors Association, a trade group whose members include companies in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. Executive Director Nick George explains that the organization sponsors a competition for the safest member worksites. Winners are announced at an annual conference held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Safety Council.

The association operates its own safety committee, which offers guidance to members on how to run their own committees. It also addresses topics like employee buy-in for safety and health and the role of supervisors in encouraging and modeling safe behavior.

Hazards—diverse and numerous

In the 1980s, OSHA targeted the food canning/processing industry and the agency’s attention has never strayed far from it. Familiar hazards persist as new risks emerge. Notes George, “We have a lot of seasonal workers, which means many have not done this type of work before, so we need to train them.” Other concerns include prescription drug abuse and language and cultural barriers.

Another source of hazards is new types of equipment like magnetic sorters that mechanize tasks formerly done by hand. Employers must remain vigilant to slips and falls, especially common in wet processes, for example, when produce is washed and then transferred to other areas of the facility. “You also have lots of conveyors, blades, and slicers, as well as warehouses with forklifts, material stacked high, and other opportunities for trouble,” George says.

Applying lockout lessons

Like other production employees, workers in food processing are at risk for injury or death when cleaning equipment. According to NIOSH, machine-related injuries in the food-manufacturing industry are often related to failure to use lockout/tagout procedures. The institute found that from 2003 to 2013, 28 fatalities and 227 serious injuries, including amputations were linked to locking and tagging out equipment. The largest number occurred in meatpacking and poultry processing and slaughtering.

NIOSH suggests that one problem is pressure to maintain a fast pace on assembly lines. Workers may feel that managers would rather have them risk injury than stop production in order to properly lock out equipment, eliminating the chance of accidental start-up.

NIOSH recommends making sure that production workers, as well as maintenance personnel, are trained in methods of energy isolation and control.

In an industry deeply concerned about the safety of the food it produces and serves, it’s encouraging to know that employee well-being is a shared priority for many employers.