Sectoral working papers, 62

Occupational safety and health in the food and drink industries

It is the intention of this working paper to contribute to the efforts made in the food and drink industries throughout the world to come to grips with their safety and health problems. It is hoped that the information provided on the problems encountered and the preventive measures adopted in some ILO member States will be of use to officials, managers and workers in countries which are experiencing similar problems and seeking appropriate solutions. Working papers are preliminary material circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comments.

Chapter 1 provides general background information on the food and drink industries and the impact of technological progress in the sector. Chapter 2 goes on to identify the general hazards encountered in the sector and to place them in context through a comparison with other industries. Chapters 3 and 4 contain a more detailed description of the injuries and diseases suffered by workers in the sector and concentrate on the most common approaches adopted for their prevention. The specific safety and health problems encountered by women workers in the sector are then examined in Chapter 5, before the description which is given in the final Chapter of the legal texts and policies which have been adopted at the national and international levels. Chapter 6 concludes by emphasizing the importance of adopting a tripartite approach to the solution of safety and health problems.

This publication was prepared within the context of the wishes expressed by the Food and Drink Industries Committee of the ILO. In the conclusions concerning occupational safety, health and working environment in the food and drink industries adopted by its First Session, the Committee urged the ILO to "promote research, particularly in the field of epidemiology, on the relation between working environment in the food and drink industries and health or disease, on ergonomics, particularly in view of new technologies, on safety in machine designs and on toxicology, particularly in view of the many chemical substances being used in the food and drink industries." Furthermore, in the resolution concerning occupational safety and health in the food and drink industries adopted by its Second Session, the Committee requested the Director-General of the ILO to "prepare a study on possible occupational diseases due to repetitive strain injuries in the food and drink industries."