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Poultry Industry Efforts Help Deliver Best Safety Record Ever
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS), the rate at which injuries and illnesses occur among
poultry processing workers in the United States has reached its lowest
level ever and is below the rate found in food manufacturing in general
and not far below manufacturing as a whole.
For poultry processing, the rate of injury and illness in 2006 was
6.6 per 100 full-time workers, down from 7.4 in 2005. The rate has
been cut to less than half the level of 14.2 in the year 2000.
The industry credits the reduction, in part, to its emphasis on ongoing
training programs, such as the Harwood Grant recently awarded to Georgia
Tech to develop safety training for sanitation and maintenance crews
(see page 1) and its continued participation in the OSHA Alliance Program
(see page 7).
“
The poultry industry has continued to improve its performance through
an emphasis on safety, new and redesigned equipment and processes,
early intervention, and other measures that protect employees,” said
Steve Pretanik, director of science and technology for the National
Chicken Council.
The poultry industry rate was below that of the food manufacturing
sector, which was 7.4 per 100 full-time workers, and slightly above
the rate for all manufacturing of 6.0, according to the federal report.
Detailed data are available at the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshsum.htm.
Rate of Illness & Injury Cases
per 100
Full-Time Workers, Poultry Processing
(Industry Code 311615)
Year  Incidence Rate
2000 14.2
2001 12.7
2002 9.7
2003 8.1
2004 7.8
2005 7.4
2006 6.6
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
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