BAKERY REVIEW
O P E R A T I O N S
Probable Occupational Hazards in Bakery
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aking bread can become a dangerous career. The late and great cookery writer Margaret Costa cautioned that “Beware of making that first loaf.” Bakers have to pay heed to the dangers prevalent in the small and as well as large bakeries, while working in them. Many bakeries in India, especially bakeries in the huge unorganised segment in the country, are fraught with inherent operational hazards, which can translate into threats to the health and safety of their staff. M a n y b a ke r i es , w h i c h h ave hot objects like ovens, have latent potential hazards in their environments. Therefore, workers in the bakery should not only ensure that they are aware of the hazards but should also know how to tackle with them safely. The job in bakery can be creative, enjoyable, rewarding and hazardous. A lot has been written about the other three facets of the bakery operations though the hazardous element in the bakery operations should also get its due industry attention. In the past, an industrial bakery which was baking cakes in a gas-fired rack oven got its oven door, weighing about 175 pounds, being blown off, causing not insignificant damage around the oven in the process. Several workers suffered minor injuries which included ringing in their ears, but what is of more serious concern is that they could have been seriously injured or even would have to pay with their lives. Then the price of daily bread would have been truly inhuman! The cause of the explosion was the sucking of the unburned gases into the baking chamber. An investigation revealed
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that the draft control had not been set up in a proper manner and neither the oven had undergone sufficient maintenance and servicing. Furthermore, the oven’s components which include the burner mountings and heat exchanger, were overheated, cracked, and experienced deterioration. What is more disturbing is the fact that accidents in bakeries are not aberrations. Therefore safety is an essential part of bakery management. The ideal prayer of the average bakery worker in the unorganised bakery sector in India could be: ‘Give us this day our daily bread and save us from the bakery!’
Too Hot to Handle However, the potential dangers in bakery operations are not only relevant in the Indian context. Many bakeries have ovens within small spaces, which make them very hot places to work with. This of course, besides causing discomfort to
the workers, is also not good for their well-being and can lead to fainting. The exposure to extreme heat in bakery ovens can affect cardiovascular function causing fainting and other consequences. As the bakery involves very high temperatures, there are high chances that careless bodily exposure to very hot surfaces without protection may cause burns and scalding of t h e s k i n d u r i n g b a ke ry operations. Bakery workers are subjected to almost daily experience of working with boiling water, hot oil, and hot ingredients, whose accidental spilling on body parts can cause scalding. Careless exposure to hot trays, grills and ovens or touching their hot surfaces without adequate protection does have potential to cause burn among the bakery workers. It is necessary for the bakery workers to handle hot trays and pots with heat resistant gloves. Wearing of gloves when carrying trays or protecting themselves with appropriate clothing like long trousers is not only necessary for the hygiene of the bakery but also for the safety of the workers. Also the bakery workers should avoid carrying hot liquids around the work area and should never allow their splashing while pouring them. Some bakeries also have walk-in ovens, which can be hazardous if their door shuts accidentally when the individual worker is inside and if he is not taken out quickly. Walk-in ovens fitted with locks containing a release mechanism inside is the answer to this potential hazard.
The Danger of Fire Not only the environment in bakeries does
Apr-May ’22
