Baker's asthma, a type of occupational asthma, is an important but under-recognized health risk in the food production industry. The condition is mainly caused by exposure to flour dust, enzymes and other allergens in the baking environment and can have serious consequences on respiratory health, leading to chronic breathing difficulties and reduced quality of life. Workers in bakeries, pastry production facilities and biscuit manufacturing plants are particularly vulnerable, being exposed to these dangerous particles every day.
Despite its prevalence, awareness of occupational asthma in bakeries remains limited, leaving workers vulnerable to its potentially debilitating effects. According to The Conversation, 12% to 26% of bakers worldwide have allergic rhinitis (itchy eyes) or conjunctivitis (runny nose), and 15% to 21% experience baker's asthma. .
Bakeries, pizza and pastry production facilities, biscuit manufacturing plants… [+] Often overlooked as dangerous workplaces, these seemingly harmless conditions pose significant risks to workers and greatly increase the risk of developing occupational asthma (commonly known as baker's asthma), which in extreme cases can be fatal.
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This condition is caused by regular and prolonged exposure to flours and grains (wheat, rye, barley, soy, buckwheat, etc.), additives and enzymes used in bread baking, and other allergens commonly found in bakeries. It occurs due to inflammation. These allergens include eggs and egg powder, sesame seeds, yeast, and nuts, as well as non-food allergens such as dust mites and molds.
Flour dust is widespread in commercial bakeries and other mass production plants and is generated during a variety of operations, including adding flour and other ingredients to mixers, dusting baking surfaces with flour, dry mopping flour from floors and other surfaces, and disposing of empty flour bags.
Studies conducted around the world have highlighted the high incidence of occupational asthma among bakers.
In France, researchers analyzed 330 cases of occupational asthma over a three-year period using data provided by a network of respiratory specialists. The findings, presented at the International Congress of the European Respiratory Society, revealed that flour was the main culprit, accounting for 20% of cases. Similarly, in Poland, 44.5% of bakers who experienced respiratory symptoms at work were diagnosed with occupational asthma.
The problem has also reached Israel, where a recent article in the Jerusalem Post called baker's asthma the “hidden danger of Hanukkah” after Israeli bakeries produced 30 million sufganiyot doughnuts during the Jewish holiday, leading to a surge in workplace respiratory illnesses.
“Exposure to flour dust ranks as the leading cause of occupational asthma,” says Mark Davidson, technical materials manager for Camfil USA, a manufacturer of commercial and industrial systems for air filtration and air pollution control. Davidson said that when he recently removed a filter for a bakery client, 17 pounds of flour was collected from the air.
The UK has documented alarming statistics regarding asthma rates among bakers. Studies have shown that the incidence of asthma in bakers is 83.1 times higher than in other occupations such as car factory technicians, factory and machine workers, cooks, hairdressers and barbers, and welders. It became clear. Baking has also been identified as the most dangerous occupation in the UK.
Historical figures from the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that between 2007 and 2016, the rate of new cases of occupational asthma reported in bakeries was 37 per 100,000 people per year. In contrast, it was only 0.4 people in all occupations.
In 2018, a British bakery company was fined more than £160,000 for exposing its employees to ongoing health risks over an extended period of time, with many of them medically diagnosed with occupational asthma. . An investigation by the HSE found there were no effective controls in place to prevent dust from becoming airborne and exposing employees to respiratory hazards. During the trial, health inspectors commented on the serious and debilitating health effects of exposure to flour dust in industrial settings.
A British study found that bakers are 83.1 times more likely to develop asthma than people in other occupations. [+] Profession
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Wheat flour often contains alpha-amylase, according to a study conducted by Nicola Cherry, an occupational epidemiologist at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. This enzyme is added to flour-based recipes in professional kitchens to improve yeast expansion in the oven, but it can also act as an airborne allergen. When inhaled, particles become lodged in lung tissue and can cause chronic inflammation after years of exposure.
“We know that alpha amylase can cause allergies in bakers who have been exposed to the enzyme over the last 20 years or so,” Cherry explains. “We've found that the more exposure you have, the more likely you are to be affected.”
To mitigate these occupational hazards, some countries have proposed workplace exposure limits for flour dust. Exposure can also be minimized by replacing regular flour with less dusty flour, using masks, and improving ventilation and air filtration systems in commercial kitchens. Davidson recommends “installing supplemental air cleaners with high-performance filters.” For larger applications, a full-size dust collector with cartridge-style filters may be more appropriate.
Behind the seemingly innocuous environment of a bakery are serious health risks faced by workers, with asthma posing a major threat to bakers. It is critical that stakeholders, from employers to policy makers, recognize and address these risks to ensure the health of those working in the baking industry. We must expose these hidden dangers to protect those who provide us with our daily bread.
