Advantage Good Agricultural Practices Manual

1.4 Injuries and Illness

Workers who have open cuts, sores or wounds or suffer from an illness that can be transferred to food (e.g. hepatitis A) can pose a food safety risk.

This Good Agricultural Practice applies to:

Farms that have workers who milk livestock or handle eggs, honey, fruit or vegetables.

What needs to be done

Make sure workers with open cuts or wounds or displaying symptoms of?illness do not enter any food production or handling areas without taking?appropriate measures to prevent contamination.

How to do it

Did you know?

You will find an example of a written practice in the Training and Support Tools section (refer to Sample A).

Establish practices to handle worker illness or injury

• To avoid food contamination, make sure workers take the following precautions:
  • Protect all open cuts and wounds securely with waterproof bandages or coverings.
  • change all coverings frequently.
  • Report all serious cuts and wounds sustained in the workplace to? the employer immediately for appropriate first aid and application of protective coverings.
    

• If a worker is showing signs of illness, make sure he or she does not
  handle food. Symptoms could include:
  • Skin lesions (boils or sores)
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Fever
  • Jaundice (yellowing of skin or eye colour)
• For farms with paid workers, have at least one worker with a valid first aid certificate present during production times.
  • Keep first aid kits well stocked and readily available to workers. First aid kits and stations should contain:
  • A current edition of a standard St. John Ambulance First Aid Manual
  • Safety pins
  • Bandages (individually wrapped, larger field dressings)
  • Sterile gauze (pads and rolls)
    
    
• Encourage workers to report all serious cuts, wounds and illnesses and take appropriate measures.

Important Number

Ontario Telehealth Service: 1-866-797-0000

In general

If you suspect food has become contaminated due to worker injury or illness, seek advice on the best course of action (e.g. possible recall, cleaning and sanitizing, or disposal options).

Did you know?

Sneezing is a very efficient way of spreading germs. A sneeze can reach speeds of around 150 km/h (similar to a Category 1 hurricane) and spread up to a metre away.

If you need an audit

Be prepared for a possible request from the auditor to see:

• Stocked first aid kits available to workers
• Written injuries and illness practices
  
  

Laws and regulations that apply

There are few specific agricultural laws that impact on food safety regulating persons with injuries or wounds on-farm. Generally, these requirements are laid out in laws regarding the processing of meat, fish and other food products, which are outside the scope of this document.

Milk Act, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 761, s. 13 (7) (a) (b) requires persons who milk or handle milking equipment to be in good health and free from any communicable disease as defined in the Health Protection and Promotion Act and Regulations.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997-R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101: First Aid Requirements s. 8-11 sets out the requirements for worker first aid stations, including identifying the minimum content requirements for the first aid boxes and who shall be in charge of the first aid stations.

Other legislation to be aware of:

Where so prescribed, an employer may only permit a worker to work who has undergone such medical examinations, tests or X-rays as prescribed and who is found to be physically fit to do the work in the workplace (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1990, c. O. 1, s. 26) [as of June 30, 2006 - see O. Reg. 414/05 Farming?Operations]. A worker is not required to participate in a prescribed medical surveillance program unless the worker consents to do so (OHSA, s. 28 (3)).

Did you know?

Several years ago in western Canada, an employee infected with hepatitis A and showing symptoms had duties handling food. Although supervisors reported that the employee had "strange-coloured eyes" this symptom, likely jaundice induced by hepatitis A, went unrecognized and the employee continued to handle food. Once the illness was confirmed, thousands of products that might have been handled by the infected worker had to be recalled and members of the public vaccinated against hepatitis A.

Proceed to 2.1 Facility Maintenance