Media coverage of the recent meat recall at XL Foods Inc. in Brooks, Alberta has focused primarily on public food safety. Justifiably so, considering that the meat processed by XL Foods is shipped to more than a dozen countries. But little has been said or heard about the invisible, voiceless workers — many of whom are temporary and foreign — toiling behind the walls of the plant. What are the occupational health and safety risks they are exposed to when handling pathogen-tainted meat that sickened so many?
REVP Bob Jackson is quoted extensively in this interesting article about the hazards faced by workers in the meat industry – read it in full at the OHS Canada magazine website.