• What law applies
• Industry overview
• Risk management
• Typical hazards
  • Manual tasks
  • Plant, equipment, machinery
  • Lighting and floors
  • Cold rooms and confined spaces
  • Scalds, burns, diseases
  • Other hazards

• Risk management
• Personal protective equipment
• Working around electricity
• First aid
• Noise

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Industry overview

The meat retail industry includes places such as butcher shops and meat departments in supermarkets.

Common activities at these workplaces include:

• preparing individual cuts from large portions of meat
• manufacturing value-added products (hamburger patties, sausages, lard, tallow, pet foods, meals)
• packaging and weighing
• customer service
• cleaning
• loading transport vehicles.

The most common injuries experienced by workers in the meat retail industry are sprains and strains (43%) and open wounds (25%).

Other injuries and illnesses include:

• nerve damage (including carpal tunnel syndrome) - 11%
• contusions and crushing - 6%
• fractures - 6%
• muscles and tendons - 4%
• amputation - 1%
• other - 4%