H E A L T H
&
BAKERY REVIEW
S A F E T Y
Heeding to Safety Measures in Bakery By Swarnendu Biswas
T
he bakery business has great potential for creativity but it requires sustained hard work and knowledge of the industry to reach success. Today with growing demand for baked goods in India and the Indian bakery industry going through impressive growth rates, bakery business has become a lucrative option to explore for entrepreneurs in the country. But it should also be borne in mind that the bakery business in India is still largely labour-intensive, inherently creative and also involves more potential risks than many other sedate professions. Some bakery processes have varying degrees of potential hazards, and therefore people working in day-to-day bakery operations or entrepreneurs running bakery enterprises should also be careful enough to not let those potential hazards
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percolate into unwelcome realities in the form of accidents or diseases like Baker’s Asthma. Entrepreneurs venturing into bakery business should take necessary steps for the proper safety of their workers. There is high chance of spillages in the production unit/s of bakeries. Spilled dough, batter and oil, and wet floors in general should be cleaned with due promptness and as long as they are not cleaned, it is always sensible to place a warning sign for wet and/or slippery floor/s. This can lower the probability of accidents from occurring across the bakery units to a great degree. It should be noted that in terms of spillages related accidents, the most critical area is the premixing zone. Here maximum spillages in bakeries are expected to occur. At the same time, slip resistant floor coverings can contribute towards prevention
of accidents through spillage. Furthermore, workers engaged in day-to-day baking operations should be given training for using ladders and step stools. U n eve n f l o o r i n g ca n a l s o b e a n impediment in the bakery operations. The entrepreneurs engaged in bakery industry should also ensure that their production unit doesn’t have uneven flooring. Uneven flooring can contribute to the upturning of pallets and trolleys and hence can increase the potential of injuries in bakery operations. Manual loading and unloading of heavy bags of ingredients is a part and parcel of the professional lives of many workers in the Indian bakery industry, which make them susceptible to spine injuries. This can be correctively addressed by employing mechanical aids such as carts and lifts for moving heavy loads as much as possible. Forklifts and trolleys should be used wherever necessary while handling heavy loads. Moreover, mechanical conveyors, screw conveyors, pneumatic conveyors or bulk handling system are more extensively needed in bakery production in India to reduce the incidences of manual loading and unloading in bakery production units. High temperatures are integral part of the bakery operations. It goes without saying that great care is needed while handling boiling water, hot oil, and hot ingredients for their exposure on the skin can cause scalding. For example, the bakery workers should never forget to wear heat-resistant gloves while handling hot trays. Bakery workers should also be trained to avoid splashing while pouring hot liquids. In fact, it should be the duty of the entrepreneurs engaged in bakery industry to ensure that their workers have the necessary knowledge and protection for their safety while handing super hot objects. Appropriate labeling of containers or vessels having hot liquids with warning sign is also a necessary precaution to avoid accidents in bakeries. Proper ventilation and fresh air supply in areas where ovens are there is also necessary. Here it deserves a mention that bakery
Feb-Mar ’22
