Safety in the workplace

Food premises workplace safety

Many accidents occur in food premises. They may be caused by the use of blunt knives, slipping on wet floors, burns from heat or chemicals, and such like.

Poor workplace practices could be contravening Health and Safety at Work regulations. Other hazards include

• no guards on food slicers
• overloading of electric sockets
• use of casual footwear instead of safety shoes
• faulty wiring
• no internal door handles in walk-in chill rooms
• spillages not cleared up
• inadequate ventilation
• poor knife storage and handling
• inaccessible first aid boxes
• inadequately lit food preparation areas
• cleaning chemical containers without lids or labels
• brakes not applied to mobile units such as shelving or refrigerators

For more information on workplace hazards visit the Health and Safety Executive website.

Remember: You and your employees have a duty to comply with the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Employees will require health and  safety training, instruction, information and supervision.