Using knives safely in the meat and food industries

Advice on how to lower the hazards to one's health and safety associated with the use of blades in the meat and food sectors. Both employees and employers may profit from the advice.

Personal defense tools

Hand defense

Employers must at the very least require workers to wear cut-resistant gloves on their knife hand, a mesh gauntlet or a mesh glove and arm guard combo on their non-knife hand, and

Mesh aprons

Where the blade during table and rail boning goes over the abdomen or approaches the body, personnel must wear mesh aprons.

Common wounds

The most frequent kind of injury in the meat sector is a cut to the non-knife hand or arm. However, because some workers switch hands while cutting, cuts can happen on both hands and both arms. Cuts to the hand holding the knife as the hand slides off the handle are another common injury. For instance, cuts caused by a reverse hold when pushing back towards the body, run-through injuries.

People accidentally cutting each other while working too closely together. Working alongside right-handed people, for instance, are left-handers.

Injuries like sprains or strains from using blades that aren't sharp enough for the job or from exerting excessive effort.

The following advice might assist employers in the meat and food sectors in carrying out their obligations and lowering the hazards to health and safety associated with using knives.

Selecting a knife

Using a well-made, sharp knife can help prevent cuts, sprains, and strains. The recommended safety features for knives are explained in the section below. If workers bring their own knives to work, managers should make sure they're well-made, sharp, and have enough safety measures, as detailed in the material below: Features to look for in a knife

Look for a handle that: has been shaped to lessen excessive wrist bending; is the right size for the user's hand; is large enough in diameter to lessen the tendency for an excessively tight grip; but is not so large as to cause an inadequate grip. Also, keep in mind that workers often wear cut-resistant gloves on the hand that holds the knife.

Making knives sharp

Knives with a flat or dull edge increase the chance of suffering from cuts, sprains, and strains. This is especially true in jobs that need many cuts per day. Every time it is necessary, knives should be sharpened. The use and contact the knife has with items will determine how often it has to be sharpened.

Sharpening tools

Knives are typically kept consistently sharp by using sharpening machines.

Employers that have sharpening equipment in their workplaces should make sure that workers are instructed on how to utilize it.

Employees must also adhere to the sharpening machine's manufacturer's directions.

Hand-honed sharpening

Manual knife sharpening requires prudence and is a challenging technique to master. Employers who use manual knife sharpening stations should make sure their staff members have received thorough training from qualified individuals. Employers should keep track of employee training.