Among those subject to the greatest workplace risks in the United States are those employed in the food service industry—a sector that, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employs some 11.6 million people.
Among those risks:
- Carcinogenic: Second-hand smoke; car exhaust from fast-food drive-throughs.
- Physical: Slips, trips, and falls; burns; cuts; strains and sprains from carrying and lifting; complications arising from prolonged standing; accidents involving kitchen and food-preparation equipment.
- Electrical and chemical: Electrical shock; chemical burns or inhalation.
- Biological: Contact with foods or other biological agents.
- Psychosocial stress: Workplace violence; employee drug use.
Second-hand smoke is a huge risk for food service workers. A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that even as recently as 2004, food service employees remained the least protected of all workers from second-hand smoke exposure at their workplace.
Less than half of the nation’s food service workers reported having a smoke-free place of employment, compared to over 75 percent of all white collar workers, including 90 percent of teachers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke at work have a 25 to 30 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 20 to 30 percent higher risk of lung cancer than nonsmokers who are not exposed to secondhand smoke at work.
Given that reality, during the 1990s and early 2000s, most states passed laws banning smoking in most indoor work environments. Yet, as of 2004, some 39 states continued to exempt bars and restaurants from these laws, reports the American Lung Association, leaving food service workers exposed to second-hand smoke and associated risks.
Other sobering statistics:
- The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) states that food service workers have a 50 percent greater risk than the general public of dying from lung cancer, due in part to their continuous exposure to second-hand smoke at work.
- The same article reported that people who work in restaurants are exposed to one and a half to two times as much second-hand smoke as people who work in office settings where smoking is allowed. People who work in bars are exposed to four to six times as much second-hand smoke.
- Another article, in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, states that although over three-fourths of white-collar workers are covered by smoke-free policies, less than half of food service workers are provided these protections.
- Research funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that the duration of exposure to second-hand smoke in a single work shift was significantly associated with the level of total urinary NNK (a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen), nicotine, and cotinine. Each hour of exposure was associated with about a 6 percent increase in NNK, a 33 percent increase in the level of nicotine, and a 12 percent increase in cotinine.
In addition to the high risks to which food service workers are subject from second-hand smoke, a variety of other risk factors—many, if not most, of which could be dramatically reduced through better regulation and monitoring—await these workers each day on the job.
Physical, electrical, and chemical risks, of course, are not unique to food service workers but are an ever-present concern in many occupations. Physical risks already noted for food service workers include accidents, slips and falls, cuts, burns, and sprains. Electrical shock can result from frayed wiring and poorly maintained machinery. Chemicals used in food processing and preservation, cooking, cleaning, and storage or packaging also contribute to workplace risk.
A major risk factor more closely associated with food service centers are biological risks associated with food handling and contact with biological agents. It is vital that food service workers follow good practices, such as frequent hand-washing and avoiding working when sick.
Food handling includes taking measures to avoid contamination in the handling or eating of raw or undercooked foods—including possibly contaminated raw shellfish. Any prepared food that has not been refrigerated for more than two hours poses health risks. All food items need to be maintained at a proper cold or hot temperature to avoid spoilage or bacterial contamination, and all kitchen surfaces and implements, of course, must be kept scrupulously clean.
A final significant food-service risk factor is psycho-social stress. Food service workers, says OSHA, are among those subject to the highest levels of workplace violence. This, in turn, is likely because the highest rate of illicit drug use of all American occupations is that among food service workers (17.4 percent).
“Substance abuse,” says Terry Cline, Ph.D.—administrator of the U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration—“is a serious problem for the health, well-being, and productivity of everyone in the workplace.”
Far too many food service workers experience high job stresses as a result of their own substance abuse or that of their coworkers. Substance abuse can lead to job loss as a result of diminished productivity, chronically strained working relationships, and conflict resulting in violence.
The food service industry, joined by a number of advocacy organizations, senses the urgency of finding solutions to the high levels of risks prevalent among food service employees. Legislative steps are in process or being planned to bring about a far safer working environment for those who work in food service.
Meanwhile, awareness of the existing risks on the part of managers, owners, and safety administrators can do much to relieve these risks, even in the absence of legislation. Closer monitoring of worker compliance with existing regulations, and common-sense steps to protect worker health and safety, can do much to bring about improvement.
Posted by Griffith Publishing
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Posted by hodicom 
Posted by hodicom 