• Musculoskeletal Disorders(MSDs) – mainly back pain and upper limb disorders from manual handling or repetitive tasks.
• Occupational asthma – mainly from exposure to flour dust or grain dust in bakeries, cake and biscuit manufacture and other sites.

Exposure to flour dust is the UK’s second most common cause of occupational asthma. MSDs are the most common type of work-related illness in food manufacturing with manual handling accounting for around 20% of reported injuries. HSE insists that such ill-health can be prevented if proper controls are in place.
HSE’s head of Manufacturing Sector John Rowe, said: “The food manufacturing sector is made up of over 300,000 workers and its health and safety record needs to improve. This inspection initiative will look to ensure effective management and control of targeted health risks. Food manufacturing companies should do the right thing by protecting workers’ health; everyone has the right to go home healthy from work.”
Usdaw members working in the food manufacturing and dairy industries may get a visit from an HSE inspector at their workplace. Safety reps should discuss the HSE inspection plan with management at their health and safety committees.
Usdaw safety reps in the industry can find out more about the inspection plan by reading the Operational Guidance for inspectors on the HSE website.
‘Manufacturing Sector Workplan 2017-18: Musculoskeletal Disorders in food manufacturing’ explains what inspectors should be looking for when inspecting for MSD prevention.
‘Manufacturing Sector Workplan 2017-18: Occupational asthmagens, carcinogens and Respirable Crystalline Silica in manufacturing industries’ includes details for occupational asthmagens such as flour dust in the food industry along with other respiratory hazards in