In the ten year period April 1998 to March 2008 there were 35 fatal injuries (excluding those to contractors) in the food and drink manufacturing industries.
These fatalities involved machinery (over 30%), workplace transport (over 25%), falls from height (over 20%) and confined spaces/asphyxiation (over 10%).
Fatal injuries since April 2000 include:
| Industry | Agent involved | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee | Transport (fork lift truck) | Driver crushed when FLT overturned, possibly during sharp turn |
| Biscuits | Transport | Reach truck struck door lintel which dislodged and fell on driver |
| Brewing | Transport | FLT driver trapped when FLT overturned while unloading beer kegs from HGV |
| Sea food | High fall | Worker fell 2.3m from racking in freezer store and suffered head injuries |
| Cocoa/chocolate | High fall | Lift stuck between two floors. Worker climbed out, lost footing, and fell to basement. |
| Slaughtering | Machinery/plant | Electrician crushed by animal handling machinery he was trying to repair |
| Bakery | Transport | Driver crushed when shunter unit reversed onto HGV trailer docked in loading bay |
| Soup | Machinery/plant | Worker scalded when pressurized cooking vessel was opened due to fault |
| Fish products | High fall | Worker fell from FLT forks while attaching bulk bag onto forks |
| Bakery | Machinery/plant | Fitter struck by dough mixing machine which fell from raised forks of FLT |
| Bakery | Low fall | Worker fixing machine when he fell from a low platform and struck his head on floor |
| Meat | Transport | FLT entered chiller unit, driver found on floor behind truck with head injuries |
| Meat | Transport | HGV driver trapped between tractor and trailer when it moved as the trailer legs were raised |
| Sugar | Transport | Worker struck by loading shovel while crossing large warehouse |
| Sugar | Machinery/plant | Worker suffered burns when boiler at sugar processing plant exploded |
| Cheese | Confined space | TIG welding contractor overcome after entering vessel containing small volume of argon at base |
| Bakery | Transport | Pallet of flour fell from lorry during unloading trapping worker |
| Sugar | High fall | Contractor fell 8.5m from scissor lift fitted with a fenced platform |
| Pet food | Machinery/plant | Worker trapped while unblocking palletising/depalletising machine |
| Sugar | Machinery/plant | Excavator with driver fell into water while being transferred from jetty to hold of ship |
| Animal by-products | Confined space | Electrical fitter overcome by fumes when he entered plant to assist a co-worker checking a blockage |
| Malt products | High fall | Worker fell from fenced access platform at a silo/bucket elevator |
| Milk/creamery | Transport | HGV driver crushed between his vehicle and another as he ran to stop his unbraked vehicle running away |
| Bakery | Transport | Agency lorry driver's head became trapped in tail lift mechanism while driver unloading empty bread baskets |
| Animal feed | High fall | Employee fell 5m to the ground through an unfenced opening in a mezzanine floor |
| Animal feed | Machinery/plant | Two maintenance workers cleaning the inside of a large feed mixer died when it started running |
| Brewery | Machinery/plant | Maintenance fitter was overcome by carbon dioxide when working on a carbon dioxide pump |
| Pet foods | Machinery/plant | Maintenance worker became trapped in a packaging machine which stacked trays of pet food |
| Slaughtering | Animals | Heffer escaped from rear of delivery lorry and struck worker who died of head injuries |
| Snack foods | Chemicals | Delivery driver died of chlorine inhalation while unloading chemicals |
| Rice | Machinery/Plant | Worker entered silo and trapped leg in screw auger, died later in hospital |
| Animal feedstuffs | High falls | Lorry driver fell from road tanker being loaded with animal feedstuffs |
| Animal feedstuffs | Asphyxiation | Lorry driver was buried by animal feed pellets at rear of bulker lorry during tipping/unloading. |
| Meat processing | Machinery/plant | Cleaning supervisor died while carrying out a cleaning operation on a large meat blender |
| Sugar confectionery | Machinery/plant | Worker became trapped when clearing blockage in sweet making machine |
| Meat processing | Machinery/plant | Worker crushed when meat conveyor he was assisting to dismantle fell on him |
Note: the above table includes some fatalities to contractors