Working safely in a multicultural food industry

Thursday, 21 September 2006

The Northwest Food Alliance has worked with a number of key food industry players to produce guidance for the food and drink industry. The document Working safely in a multicultural food and drink industry is the result of a year-long project with partners from major food companies Greencore, Northern Foods, Tulip Meats and Uniq, independent health and safety consultants, the Health and Safety Executive, and Eversheds Solicitors.

Effective communication with the workforce is a major issue for the food and drink industry, as the number of overseas nationals employed increases. The guidance covers issues relating to recruitment, induction, training, supervision and risk assessment and includes links to other sources of information and examples of current best practice.  Feedback to the document has been very positive - Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission said the document provides 'practical guidance, which is appropriate, relevant and targeted to the needs of employers in the industry'.

Ruth Blair, Project Manager at the Northwest Food Alliance, commented: 'The need for this health and safety guidance provided an excellent opportunity for the Northwest Food Alliance to be the first body to review the specific issues associated with operating with a multicultural workforce'.