Morning Paul

If you go to www.hse.gov.uk/statistics it takes you to a series of tables which allow you to look at different variables in HSE's analysis of RIDDOR stats.

One table deals with sector but I am not entirely sure whether Food is counted separately from Manufacturing, though food also might mean warehousing and logistics or even retail.

You do need to remember that the HSE stats only cover what has been recorded under RIDDOR and would have to add on a large proportion on to the stated numbers to allow for UNDERreporting.

You might get a more detailed understanding by looking at the OSHA stats published on the US Department of Labor website.

1. The numbers are counted differently - particularly in terms of being against hours rather than people.

2. If you were to manage to convert US stats into UK equivalents all the numbers would be much higher - US reactive stats are much worse.

However, either way you are going to find it difficult to use either or both of these sources to do genuine benchmarking.

Even if you restricted your approach to food manufacturing, this could range from a small abattoir or bakery through to huge automated factories [where the stats - subject to cleaning up relative levels of UNDERreporting - SHOULD be much lower per worker].

....and some parts of the food industry are inherently more dangerous than others as regards one risk or another. Nobody in a bakery tends to knife themselves in the groin, as is apparently not uncommon in deboning operations in abattoirs. [Apparently as I think I have only ever been in one abattoir]

In contrast, you are very unlikely to get a dust explosion in an abattoir but this can be a significant risk where lots of flour and sugar is around.

So, my advice is to tread carefully! What do you actually want to find out?

Trade associations or other industry groups are the best source of benchmarking for their members.