Occupational health and safety (OHS) in the food industry is a critical requirement for businesses due to its high level of physical risks. Under Türkiye’s Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, all employers are responsible for protecting employee health and safety.
Common risks such as slips, cuts, burns, and machinery-related accidents must be prevented through proper equipment, employee training, regular inspections, and effective risk assessment processes.
An effective OHS management system not only protects employees but also strengthens legal compliance and operational continuity.
In this guide, occupational health and safety in the food sector is examined through key topics including common workplace accidents, hazard classification, employer obligations under Law No. 6331, restaurant and production facility applications, and a step-by-step framework for establishing an effective OHS system.
What distinguishes the food industry from many other service sectors is the intensity of physical hazards.
While the biggest workplace risk in an office environment may be ergonomic issues caused by poor seating conditions, a professional kitchen involves multiple hazards at the same time, including hot oil, sharp tools, electrical equipment, and slippery floors.
Workplace accidents in the food industry continue to represent a significant occupational safety concern.
In 2024, 113 employees working in the food sector lost their lives due to workplace accidents. The sector was listed among the industries with the highest accident frequency, together with textile, metal manufacturing, and construction industries.
According to sector guidance published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, cooling and freezing processes in food production may expose employees to cold surfaces, while heating and thermal processing activities create burn hazards.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has also developed more than 25 free risk assessment tools (OiRA) specifically for the accommodation and food service sector.
The first step in preventing workplace accidents in the food sector is correctly identifying and classifying risks.
The most common risk categories in restaurants and food production facilities include:
Kitchen and production areas often contain wet, oily, or contaminated surfaces due to food residues such as flour and sugar. These conditions make slips and falls one of the most frequent accident types in the industry.
Knives, mandoline slicers, and meat processing machines are frequently used tools that can cause serious injuries when proper safety procedures are not followed.
Hot oil, boiling water, steam, and heated oven surfaces represent major hazards in restaurant kitchens.
Long periods of standing, heavy lifting, and repetitive movements can gradually lead to musculoskeletal disorders and significant productivity losses.
Cleaning and disinfection chemicals used in poorly ventilated environments may cause respiratory irritation and other health problems.
Employees working in frozen food storage areas may face risks such as frostbite, hypothermia, and being trapped inside enclosed cold environments.
Meat processing lines, slicing machines, and packaging robots can cause severe injuries, especially when protective guards are removed or safety systems are bypassed.
Fryers, cooking equipment, accumulated flour dust, and LPG systems can increase fire risks, while dust accumulation under certain conditions may create explosion hazards.
Electrical equipment used in wet environments and improper grounding systems can lead to electrical accidents.
In Türkiye, workplaces are classified into three categories under occupational health and safety regulations: less hazardous, hazardous, and highly hazardous.
This classification is determined according to the workplace’s NACE activity code registered in the Social Security Institution (SGK) records and verified through the official list published under the Workplace Hazard Classes Regulation.
In the food industry, the hazard classification varies depending on the company’s primary activity:
This classification directly determines the required qualification level of occupational safety specialists (Class A/B/C), the frequency of risk assessment renewals, and the scope of Occupational Health and Safety Unit (OSGB) services.
The Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, published in the Official Gazette on June 30, 2012, requires all employers to protect employee health and safety regardless of workplace size or hazard classification.
Employers are responsible for identifying workplace risks, implementing preventive measures, providing necessary training, and maintaining a safe working environment.
Food businesses classified as hazardous or highly hazardous are required to receive continuous occupational health and safety services, even if they employ only one employee.
For small businesses classified as less hazardous, the current status of any exemptions or postponements should be confirmed through official announcements from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
According to Article 12 of the Risk Assessment Regulation, food businesses must renew their risk assessments according to their workplace hazard classification.
|
Hazard Classification |
Renewal Period |
|
Highly Hazardous |
At least once every 2 years |
|
Hazardous |
At least once every 4 years |
|
Less Hazardous |
At least once every 6 years |
Article 17 of Law No. 6331 states that employees in hazardous and highly hazardous workplaces cannot begin work without receiving required occupational health and safety training.
Article 14 requires employers to record all workplace accidents and report them to SGK within three working days.
Administrative penalty amounts change annually and should be verified through the relevant Official Gazette announcements.
From an occupational safety perspective, most restaurant activities are classified as less hazardous. However, the physical risks present in professional kitchens remain significant regardless of the official classification.
Floor management:
Use anti-slip flooring solutions and implement "spot cleaning" procedures to immediately address spills and contamination.
PPE standardization:
Provide cut-resistant gloves, heat-resistant gloves, and slip-resistant footwear as standard protective equipment.
Ventilation hood and grease filter maintenance:
Establish a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule.
Emergency drills:
Conduct fire response and evacuation drills at least once a year.
Shift-based inspection checklists:
Inspect stoves, fryers, and electrical equipment using standardized forms.
Field Example:
In a multi-location restaurant chain, it was identified that newly hired employees were operating fryers independently during their first week without completing proper training. After implementing a "five-day supervised operation" rule, burn-related incidents significantly decreased.
OHS systems in food production facilities should be designed more systematically than restaurant operations due to higher levels of automation and machinery usage.
Machine guards and LOTO (Lockout/Tagout):
Prevent accidental machine activation during maintenance activities.
Cold storage safety protocols:
Ensure doors can be opened from inside, install emergency call buttons, and define maximum exposure times.
Dust and explosion risk management:
Implement proper ventilation and grounding systems in facilities processing flour, sugar, and spice powders.
Field Example:
In a meat processing facility, a protective barrier that was not reinstalled after maintenance caused a finger injury. The facility introduced a mandatory approval form requiring verification of protective barriers after maintenance activities.
EU-OSHA has developed more than 19 free digital risk assessment tools (OiRA) for food production and retail activities, including butcher shops, bakeries, and supermarkets.
Key developments shaping the future of food industry safety include:
IoT sensors:
Automatically alerting teams when cold storage temperatures reach critical levels.
Computer vision-based warning systems:
Detecting employees approaching machinery without required PPE.
Wearable technologies:
Monitoring exposure duration for employees working in cold storage environments.
Integration of HACCP and OHS data on a single platform:
Accelerating root cause analysis and improving decision-making.
These trends are based on sector observations and should be evaluated alongside official statistical data.
Most restaurant and catering activities are classified as less hazardous.
Yes. Exposure time should be limited, doors should be openable from inside, and appropriate thermal PPE should be provided.
Businesses should begin by using free public resources and implementing basic safety practices before investing in advanced solutions.
Occupational health and safety in the food industry is not a document created only to pass inspections. It is a management system designed to protect employees and ensure operational continuity.
If you operate a restaurant, start by improving floor safety and PPE management. If you manage a food production facility, prioritize machinery safety and HACCP-OHS integration.
Your next steps should be:
A strong OHS system does not only reduce workplace accidents; it also improves operational reliability, compliance performance, and long-term business sustainability.
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