Top 10 hazards in the food and beverage industries

When workers and employers from the food and beverage wholesale distribution industry in Ontario came together in 2023 to determine their top risks, it was a reminder about how much we can accomplish when everyone works together. The risk assessment workshop for the industry engaged worker and management representatives, with the support of various stakeholders, to gain a deeper understanding of the occupational health and safety risks they face at work. 

The food and beverage wholesale distribution industry is an integral part of Ontario’s food system. Almost everything purchased from a grocery store has passed through a wholesale food and beverage distributor before it appears on the store shelf. They are the link between manufacturers and retail outlets.

Why wholesale distribution?

It was concerning to see in 2022 that the food and beverage wholesale distribution industry had a much higher lost-time injury (LTI) rate (1.22) than the general services sector (0.67). Wholesale distribution workers were getting hurt more often than workers in the other sectors WSPS serves.

Because of this, WSPS decided to apply the proven risk assessment and root-cause analysis methodology introduced by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD). “Food and beverage wholesale distribution was chosen for this initiative because it had the highest subsector risk rating in the service sector and the third highest across the three sectors WSPS serves,” said Rishma Brenner, health and safety consultant with WSPS. Rishma co-facilitated the risk assessment workshop. 

“This process has proven to be a systematic way to rank industry-specific risks as identified by the workers, supervisors, and employers who are working with and have the most knowledge of these hazards,” said Jody Young, president and CEO of WSPS. “It moves participants away from pinning responsibility for safety on one group or another within an organization to collectively identifying ‘what keeps everyone up at night’ regarding their safety in the workplace.” It leverages the collective experiences of all involved to identify risks, rather than relying on lagging indicators.

WSPS invited workers, supervisors, and employers from companies of various sizes to participate in the risk assessment. These representatives volunteered their time to identify, discuss, and analyze the leading risk factors in their industry. In advance of the workshop, they submitted their top health and safety concerns.

“We asked the participants to think about what was hurting them or could potentially hurt people or make them ill,” Brenner explained. “In total, 51 hazards were identified before the workshop. Three more were added the day of the workshop, and one more was added post-workshop. So, 55 hazards were ranked, assessed, and validated.”

Top 10 risks

The top 10 risks that emerged from the risk assessment process were:

1. Musculoskeletal disorders related to manual material handling. The most common was overexertion related to lifting, pulling, and pushing
2. Low risk perception among workers and employers – they are not aware of or don’t fully understand the risks they may be encountering at work
3. Slips, trips, and falls
4. Workers’ heads struck against racking
5. Pedestrian safety
6. Fatigue and stress
7. The presence of temporary workers (i.e., workers from a third-party agency)
8. Motor vehicle incidents during the transportation of goods
9. Moving pallets

10. Powered material handling equipment collisions with fixed structures/objects

Collaboration a positive experience

“Using an open, transparent, and collaborative process ensures that different perspectives and viewpoints are heard,” Rishma said. Her comments are echoed by Monica Sohi, health and safety manager for Metro Ontario Inc: “This method of risk assessment is effective because it considers the larger picture of the industry. It allows for group input and discussion. The approach gave companies with different processes, products and work environments the opportunity to share knowledge.”

Cameron Melin, a worker representative from Gordon Foods enjoyed the collaboration. “I was happy to put my experience to use. A risk assessment can sometimes be very one-sided and may favour a desired viewpoint. Because we were such a varied group, it led to an unbiased result,” Melin said. “It helped build positive relationships.” 

The next step for the food and beverage wholesale distribution industry is to complete a root-cause analysis workshop. The group  will come together again to drill down on the top identified risk ­– musculoskeletal disorders related to manual material handling – and will examine what is causing them.  The results will be shared by WSPS, system partners, and other industry stakeholders and the information used to develop resources specifically targeting the hazards in this subsector.