NAICS sector 311·Federal OSHA Severe Injury Reports

Food & Meat Processing

6,430 severe-injury reports to federal OSHA between 2015-01-02 and 2025-11-30, including 4,150 hospitalizations and 3,057 amputations.

Food manufacturing (NAICS 311), covering meat and poultry processing, bakeries, and packaged foods, is one of the most injury-dense corners of US manufacturing. Amputations and lacerations from powered saws, grinders, slicers, and conveyor lines dominate the severe injuries reported here. For the animal slaughtering-and-processing slice specifically, see the meatpacking page. Counts are federal-OSHA-reported only.

6,430Severe injuries

4,150Hospitalizations

3,057Amputations

1Eye losses

Employers with the most severe injuries in this sector

# Employer Severe-injury reports

1 TYSON FOODS, INC. 142 2 Wayne Farms, LLC. 48 3 SMITHFIELD FOODS 47 4 SWIFT BEEF COMPANY 46 5 PILGRIM'S PRIDE CORPORATION 44 6 TYSON FRESH MEATS, INC. 43 7 TYSON POULTRY, INC. 42 8 FRITO-LAY, INC. 39 9 PECO FOODS, INC. 28 10 Bimbo Bakeries USA 27

Sub-industries within Food & Meat Processing

Drill into the more specific NAICS classifications beneath this sector, each with the employers on the federal OSHA record in it.

Example incidents

Greater Omaha Packing Co., Inc. OMAHA, NEBRASKA · 2025-11-30 · Fall on same level due to slip or trip
An employee was walking into work at the employee entrance when they slipped on black ice and fell onto their right side. The employee sustained a fractured right leg.
TNT Crust GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN · 2025-11-30 · Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing
The employee was listening for a noise at a cooling rack. His hand was caught by the in-running nip point of an unenergized roller and an energized wire belt. The wire belt cut his fingertip, resulting in amputation. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
GONNELLA BAKING CO. AURORA, ILLINOIS · 2025-11-30 · Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing
An employee was working to push a jammed stack of trays forward onto an un-stacker machine. The employee's glove became stuck in a pinch point and the lift moved up, causing the employee's left ring and middle fingers to contact the pan guide, resulting in a laceration.
Scoular - Emerge JEROME, IDAHO · 2025-11-28 · Exposure through intact tissue
An employee was consolidating buckets of used oil when the oil mixed with caustic material and acid which caused a reaction. The mixture splashed the employee, causing chemical burns to his face, eyes, and right forearm.
El-Milagro, Inc. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS · 2025-11-28 · Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing
An employee was working to to ensure a machine was unclogged when the rotation valve amputated the distal portion of his right index, middle, and ring fingers.
Peco Foods, Inc BATESVILLE, ARKANSAS · 2025-11-27 · Caught, entangled in running powered equipment normal operation
An employee was cleaning a leg deboning machine. As the employee walked under a conveyor, they were grabbed by the conveyor and became pinned against a machine. The employee sustained a crushing injury to their right arm.

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Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports, federal jurisdiction, 2015-01-02 – 2025-11-30. State-plan states are not included.