15 July 2004 - 'Recipe for Safety' Initiative Shows Positive Results
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published provisional results for its 'Recipe for Safety' initiative in the food manufacturing industry. The initiative began in the early 1990’s following the Health and Safety Commission’s concern that injury rates in the food and drink industries were too high.
Provisional figures comparing 2002/03 with 1990/91 have shown:
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fatal injuries/year figure has dropped by 60%
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total number of injuries has dropped by 32% (from 14,435 to 9864)
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all-injury incidence rate has dropped by 21.5%
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all-injury incidence rates in 6 major food sectors have dropped by 40% (meat/poultry 45%, grain milling 42%, bakeries 38%, dairies 31% and confectionery 41%)
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major injury rate (broken bones etc) has dropped by 14% (since 1996 when RIDDOR '95 came into operation)
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manual handling injury rate dropped by 24% (and slips injuries dropped by 13%) within a decade
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injury rate at 2 targeted groups of 'high injury rate sites' dropped by 33% and 50% (20 sites in each group)
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similar injury rate reductions were achieved through management and safety representatives working together at large production sites.
The Recipe for Safety booklet can be found on the HSE Health and Safety in Food and Drink Manufacture web page. The booklet can also be ordered from HSE Books.
