'Farm-to-table' model shows occupational health risks in food industry
Work-related injury and death rates higher than in other industries
Workers involved in nearly every step of the modern food industry are at increased risk of occupational illness/injury and death, compared to other industries, reports a study in the July Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Using a "farm-to-table" model, the study may help in targeting specific workplace hazards across the food industry, according to Kira L. Newman, BA, of Emory University, Atlanta, and colleagues. They analyzed US Bureau of Labor Statistics on occupational morbidity and mortality in food-related industries from 2008 to 2010.
The farm-to-table model framework considered five major food industry "pathways and processes": food production, processing, distribution, storage, and retail. Food system jobs accounted for an estimated 15 percent of all private industry jobs in the United States (excluding jobs involving transportation between steps).
Overall, food industry workers had a higher rate of occupational illness and injury: 60 percent higher than workers in non-food industries. Severe injuries requiring time off work were more than twice as frequent in the food industry.