Companies and people working in food manufacturing are being told they must pay closer attention to how they manage workplace health risks or face serious penalties.

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) programme of proactive inspections will review health and safety standards in food manufacturing businesses across the country, and the sector is being warned that a programme of unannounced inspections will begin today.

The inspections will focus on two of the main causes of ill-health in the sector which are currently occupational asthma from exposure to flour dust in bakeries, cake and biscuit manufacturers and grain mills and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) – predominantly lower back pain and upper limb disorders from manual handling activities and repetitive tasks across the sector.

The inspection visits come as HSE recently released its Manufacturing sector plan which prioritises the reduction of cases of occupational lung disease and MSDs.

Exposure to flour dust is the UK’s second most common cited cause of occupational asthma. MSDs are the most common type of work-related illness in food manufacturing with handling injuries, accounting for around 20% of reported employee injuries (RIDDOR). HSE insists that such ill-health can be prevented when organisations have proper risk control systems in place.

The inspections will ensure measures are being taken by those responsible to protect workers against health risks and HSE will not hesitate to use enforcement to bring about improvements.

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.

HSE is calling on anyone working in the industry to take the time to refresh their knowledge of our advice and guidance, available for free on our website.

Food manufacturing companies should do the right thing by protecting workers’ health; everyone has the right to go home healthy from work.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. uk^[1][1][1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: gov.uk^{[2 [2][2]]}
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk^[3][3]

2 January 2018

*Co-Leader brands fare increases a “modern-day great train robbery”

*Party unveils package of reforms to bring down rail fares

The Green Party has announced a package of reforms that they say would bring down the cost of rail travel.

The launch comes as thousands of rail commuters are hit by the annual increase in ticket prices. Fares have gone up by 3.4% for 2018, the biggest increase in five years [1].

Under Green Party plans, fares would be reduced through a number of policies including:

*The creation of a National Railcard offering discounts on rail tickets

*A new scheme providing reduced ticket prices for low income travellers

*A National system which entitles people to travel on all public transport networks

The party would also bring the railways back into public ownership – a move they say would pump far more investment into the infrastructure and bring down fares.

Co-Leader of the Green Party Jonathan Bartley said:

“Very few workers will be going back to the office with a higher salary this week – but every one of them that commutes by train will be paying a higher price for their rail fares.

“While the cost of motoring has fallen the cost of rail travel has increased. This is a modern day great train robbery. 

“It makes no sense for major public services to be broken up into disconnected monopolies, driven not to provide the best possible service but to deliver profits to shareholders. That’s why the Green Party is calling for railways to be brought back into public hands to create a connected, efficient, and reliable service that delivers for customers. And it is why we are calling for new action to immediately bring down the cost of fares to ensure that everyone – no matter what their income or where they live – can access an affordable, reliable, and quality rail service.”

Notes

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42234488

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