• Where are refrigerated food premises located?

  Refrigerated food premises are found in all types of facilities where food is handled at low temperatures, such as the slaughter and charcuterie industry, dairies, the canning industry, the fish processing industry and market gardening.

  There are also refrigerated premises in distribution centres and some parts of the retail trade. Within these types of facilities, it is often the dispatch rooms that will be covered by the regulations.

Main risks of working in refrigerated food premises

• Chilling of the body, hypothermia

  Normally, the body replaces the heat it loses to the environment with its own heat production. However, if physical activity is too low, it is difficult to maintain a normal body temperature in the cold. Some people are particularly sensitive to cold. It is normal among healthy people, but can also be due to injuries and illness.

  Problems can occur if the internal body temperature decreases and if body parts become cold. The hands, ankles and neck are especially sensitive. The risk of musculoskeletal disorder increases when joints and muscles are cooled locally.

  Local cooling also affects the overall heat balance. Without an insulating cap, there is significant heat loss from the head. Local chilling can also contribute to urinary tract and prostate problems. Cold injuries or frostbite normally only occur when there is severe chilling.

  With chilling, blood flow to the skin and muscles decreases, especially when muscle activity is low. Performance decreases and the relative workload therefore increases. This increases the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and accidents.

  Cold impairs muscle function and coordination of movements, including reducing manual dexterity. This can increase the risk of cuts during cutting work, for example. The respiratory tract and blood circulation are also affected by working in the cold. Individuals have different sensitivity to cold, which is related to individual muscle mass, among other things.

• Contact with cold objects

  Hands are sensitive to cold. Working with bare hands means cold fingers. It is difficult to work with cold fingers because of poorer strength and precision. For example, in the fishing industry, employees are exposed to severe chilling when they come into contact with cold fish.

• Cutting meat at low air temperature

  All cutting of meat requires strength and precision. Because chilled meat is hard the need for strength and precision increases. At the same time, the air temperature needs to be low when cutting for food hygiene reasons. This causes employees to become chilled and find it difficult to cut with strength and precision.

• Risk of being trapped in a freezer room

  Being trapped in a freezer room poses a risk to both health and life. A worker can become trapped if a door cannot be opened from the inside or if there is no way to alert someone outside.

  Prevent the risks of working in refrigerated food premises

  There are several things employers can do to reduce the risks of occupational accidents and illnesses.

Prevent general chilling

• Prevent general chilling

  Always plan the work so that the body can maintain its heat balance, that is, so that the body's own heat production covers heat loss. It is possible to maintain heat balance even in very cold climates if the clothing and activity are correct.

  The appropriate temperature for experiencing comfort depends on activity and clothing. If the work is physically demanding, a lower temperature works better than for sedentary work.

• Divide the premises into different temperature zones

  If the food needs a lower air temperature than is comfortable for people, the premises can be divided into different temperature zones. A colder zone for food and a warmer one for employees.

  The food can then be moved to the warmer zone while workers are processing it and moved back to the cooler zone after processing. If the time in the warmer zone is short enough, the food can maintain the low temperature required by food legislation.

  If it is not possible to divide the premises into temperature zones, the length of work shifts in the cold needs to be limited. Breaks or work rotation to warmer areas mean that employees become less chilled.

  You can read more about this in the Swedish Work Environment Authority's provisions and general guidelines (AFS 2023:12) on the design of workplaces ((so far only in Swedish))

• Text Radiant 'draught' causes heat loss and discomfort

  When body heat radiates to surrounding cold surfaces, the effect can be like a draught - a radiant 'draught' - and lead to chilling. The surfaces can be cold room doors, chilled animal carcasses or packaging. It is possible to reduce such heat loss by radiation, for example by not storing cold goods in the workroom unnecessarily.

  Sometimes it may be necessary to use air locks to reduce drafts and air movement. An example of when an airlock is needed is if a permanent workplace is near an opening, a gate or a door, and there is a large temperature difference or difference in air pressure between different areas.

• Contact with cold objects – use gloves against the cold

  Goods and packaging should not be cooled to a lower temperature than required for food hygiene. Work should also be organised so as to avoid touching refrigerated goods or packaging.

  If this cannot be avoided, gloves should be used to protect against the cold. They must be worn under the gloves used for food hygiene reasons. It is important that gloves are available in sizes that fit the individual employees, so that the glove can follow the movements of the hand.

  Examples of surfaces that need to be touched during work are hand tools and handles on trolleys. Insulating handles and the like can be done, for example, with plastic materials that have surfaces that are easy to clean. Where work is done sitting, the chair seat normally needs to be insulated.

• Better to cut meat warm

  Cutting meat should primarily be conducted as so-called warm butchering. This means that butchering takes place immediately after slaughter and before chilling. If you instead cut chilled meat, the temperature where butchery takes place should be kept as high as the temperature requirements in the Swedish Food Agency's regulations allow. It should not fall below + 4°C.

• It should be possible to open refrigerated and freezer rooms from the inside

  It must be possible to open doors of refrigerated and freezer rooms from the inside. If the temperature is lower than – 5°C, there must be an alarm device placed approximately 0.5 metres above the floor.

  It must be possible to use this to send a light or sound signal to a place where help is available. Decisions about where the signal should go must be based on a risk assessment.

  You can read more about this in the provisions on the design of workplaces (so far only in Swedish).

• Appropriate temperatures for comfort

  Appropriate temperatures for different activities

  The temperatures are approximate and are calculated according to the comfort standard (SS-EN ISO 7730:2006). The recommendations in the standard are based on a survey that shows what temperatures 90 per cent of all people find acceptable.

  Sedentary work

  Clothing

  Normal: 21–25°C

  Extra clothing: 19–23°C

  Thermal: 17–18°C

  Standing work

  Clothing

  Normal: 13–19°C

  Extra clothing: 10–18°C

  Thermal: (8)–16°C

  Moving work

  Clothing

  Normal: 10–17°C

  Extra clothing: (6)–14°C

  Thermal: –

• Standards for working in the cold

  At room temperatures over 10°C

  SS-EN ISO 7730:2006, Ergonomics of the thermal environment – ​​analytical determination and assessment of thermal comfort using the PMV and PPD indices and criteria for local thermal comfort (the comfort standard).

  Calculate maximum working time in the cold for different activities and clothing

  SS-EN ISO 11079-2007, Ergonomics of the thermal environment – ​​determination and assessment of thermal stress in cold conditions using recommended clothing insulation (IREQ) and local cooling effects (IREQ standard).

  Swedish Institute for Standards (SIS) website