Poultry Industry Continues to Improve Worker Safety Record
US - The incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses within the poultry sector’s slaughter and processing workforce has fallen by 82 per cent over the last 20 years and continues to decline according to the 2016 Injury and Illness Report recently released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
13 November 2017
3 minute read
By: The total recordable poultry processing illness and injury rate for 2016 was 4.2 cases per 100 full-time workers (per year), down from 4.3 in 2015. The poultry industry’s rate of 4.2 was below the rate of 6.9 for similar agricultural industries in terms of injuries per 100 full time workers and lower than the rate of 4.7 for the entire food manufacturing sector.
Poultry processing’s 2016 rate of 4.2 represents an 82 per cent decrease from 1994 (the oldest data available on the BLS website), when the recorded rate was 22.7, demonstrating the immense advancements the industry has made in improving safety for its workforce.
"Employee safety is of utmost importance. The poultry industry continues to concentrate its efforts on the prevention of workplace injuries and illnesses, especially musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome, by recognizing the benefit of implementing ergonomics and medical intervention principles, while continually effecting new technology and automation in the workplace," said the Joint Industry Safety and Health Council in a statement regarding the report’s release.
"Though the past two decades have shown a remarkable decrease in the numbers and rates of injury and illnesses, the poultry industry is dedicated to pursuing new and inventive ways to safeguard our workforce."
The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council consists of members from USPOULTRY, the National Chicken Council and the National Turkey Federation. Collectively, the three organizations represent companies that produce 95 per cent of the nation's poultry products and directly employ more than 350,000 workers.
"The poultry industry has been diligent in reducing recordable injuries and illnesses for decades," said John Starkey, USPOULTRY president.
"This most recent data acknowledges the excellent safety performance achievements the poultry industry has accomplished. We will continue to implement additional practices and tools to further protect the people that work hard every day in our plants to provide high-quality, safe and nutritious protein for consumers."
