OSHA puts meat and poultry industries under its wing to protect all employees

New Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance goes beyond poultry barns to cover all animal slaughtering and processing facilities.

Previous OSHA guidance only applied to poultry establishments. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is in poultry plants but isn’t charged with the safety of poultry employees. That’s where OSHA comes in.

The new “Inspection Guidance for Animal Slaughtering and Processing Establishments” is intended by OSHA to reduce injuries and illnesses resulting from occupational hazards in all meat and poultry processing facilities through outreach, compliance assistance, and enforcement.

OSHA claims meat and poultry workers suffer serious injuries at double the rate of other workers. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows occupational illness cases were six times higher in the animal slaughtering and processing industry than the average for all sectors in 2022.

According to OSHA, the rate of carpal tunnel syndrome in the industry was more than seven times the national average. Serious hazards include exposure to high noise levels, dangerous equipment and machinery, slippery floors, hazardous chemicals, and biological hazards associated with handling animals.

OSHA reports an increased number of children working in the meat and poultry industry, often with maintenance and cleaning duties that can impact food safety. Government inspectors plan to focus on hazards associated with sanitation and cleanup operations, ergonomics, hazardous energy, and machine guarding.

“This expansion into the broader Animal Slaughtering and Processing industry (NAICS 3116) is based on OSHA’s determination that this industry has a high Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) days away, restricted, or transfer (DART) rate (i.e., above the 1.7 private industry national average).” according to the document. “This initiative aims to significantly reduce injuries and illnesses resulting from occupational hazards through a combination of enforcement, compliance assistance, and outreach.”

Associated hazards that will be included are:

• Sanitation and Cleanup Operations
• Ergonomics/Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)/Payment for PPE
• Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tag-out)
• Machine Guarding
• Slips, Trips, and Falls
• Process Safety Management – Ammonia
• Chemical hazards -Hazards -Ammonia, Chlorine, Hydrogen Peroxide, Peracetic Acid, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen (gas & liquid)
• Occupational Noise
• Egress and Blocked Exits
• Record-keeping

According to OSHA, these focus hazards shall be assessed in addition to other hazards that may be the subject of the inspection or based on information gathered by OSHA safety and health officers. 

Employees, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds or immigration status, have the right under OSHA to a workplace free of known safety and health hazards and to report hazards to OSHA without fear of retaliation. OSHA is supposed to make referrals to whistleblower staff whenever indicated.

According to OSHA, hazards include exposure to peracetic acid, a bacteria killer. 

Overall, OSHA finds animal slaughtering and processing workers suffer serious injuries that require a day or more away from work or restricted activity to recuperate at a rate that is more than double that of private industry. 

OSHA suspects that the number of injured workers may be even higher than the reported cases at some animal slaughtering and processing industry sites because of high worker turnover, inadequate medical management, employer reporting policies, or fear of employer retaliation.

OSHA also reports that sanitation workers, including contractors and temporary workers, are particularly at risk of being exposed to hazards while cleaning energized machinery. This work sometimes occurs at night and employs underage workers.

OSHA also finds on-the-job fatalities are also occurring in the meat and poultry industry due to exposure to hazardous workplaces, including, but not limited to, those with struck-by hazards, unguarded machinery, hazardous energy (lockout/tag-out), and infectious disease hazards.

The musculoskeletal disorders that first brought OSHa’s interest in the poultry industry remain a concern.  The agency says there  are many such disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), tendonitis, epicondylitis, and “trigger finger.”

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