Food Machinery Safety: Mincers, Dough Mixers and Slicers

Food machinery safety: why do hygiene and guarding conflict?

Whether it is a butcher's shop, a bakery, a meat processing plant or a catering kitchen, the essence of food machinery safety is the same. The machine has to be dismantled and washed every day, sometimes every shift. The guard cover, feed hopper or blade guard is removed for cleaning; then it is either not refitted in the rush or never refitted again because it is "hard to wash". Work done for hygiene leaves the machine unguarded.

Annex I of the Regulation on Health and Safety Requirements for the Use of Work Equipment deals directly with this conflict. All equipment with a risk of contact with moving parts has guards that prevent access to the danger zone or stop movement before it is reached. These guards:

Are of robust construction and create no additional hazards,
Cannot easily be removed or defeated,
Are at a sufficient distance from the danger zone,
Restrict access only to the area where work is done and allow fitting, removing parts and maintenance without needing to be removed.

The same annex also states that maintenance work may only be carried out when the equipment is switched off, its energy supply disconnected and all movement stopped. Art. 19 of Law No. 6331 obliges employees not to remove or alter safety devices arbitrarily. So a machine with its guard removed is a problem for both the employer and the employee.

The fact that some food activities, such as bread making, are less hazardous in the 2025 list of hazard classes does not reduce the risk of these machines; the hazard class concerns the workplace as a whole, while machine risk concerns the person standing at that machine.

Meat mincer accidents: the feed opening and the pusher

On a meat mincer, the danger is the worm and blade assembly rotating under the feed opening. The typical mincer accident is a finger or hand being caught by the worm while trying to push meat jammed in the hopper down by hand. The second typical scenario is removing the sharp blade and plate by hand during cleaning.

On a safe mincer, look for the following:

Feed opening geometry: The diameter of the opening and its distance from the worm should be designed so that a hand cannot reach the danger zone. A hopper that has been widened or cut afterwards removes this protection.
Pusher: The pusher supplied by the manufacturer is part of the guarding system. If the pusher is lost, a wooden spoon or a hand is not used instead; the machine is not used until a new one is obtained.
Interlocked cover and chamber: The motor should not run when the chamber or head is removed.
Cleaning: The blade and plate are removed after the machine is unplugged; sharp parts are handled with cut-resistant gloves.

The safety and hygiene requirements for these machines are in the TS EN 12331 standard.

Dough mixers: the bowl and the arm

On a dough mixer, the main risk is entrapment between the rotating arm and the rotating bowl, and being caught by the arm. Putting a hand inside while the machine is running, especially to check the consistency of the dough, add flour to the bowl or scrape dough stuck to the bowl, leads to serious injuries.

On a safe dough mixer:

There is an interlocked guard grid or cover over the bowl; when the grid is opened, the arm and bowl stop.
The grid has openings that allow ingredients to be added but do not let a hand reach the danger zone.
On machines with a bowl lifting or tipping mechanism, crushing points are guarded separately.
The arm's stopping time after the stop command should be short; if the grid can be opened before the arm stops, the guarding is inadequate.

The TS EN 453 standard applies to these machines. Address ergonomic risks such as carrying heavy bowls by hand and lifting flour sacks in the same risk assessment.

Slicer safety: the blade and the last piece

On a slicer, the high-speed circular blade causes most injuries when cutting the last piece and during cleaning. Pushing the last few centimetres of cheese or salami by hand, and removing the blade guard ring to wipe the blade, are the typical accidents on these machines.

Points to check:

Blade guard ring: Covers the part of the blade not used for cutting; it is removed only using the cleaning method specified by the manufacturer.
Product pusher and end-piece holder: Pushes the product onto the blade with the holder, not by hand. The last piece is not cut without the holder.
Leaving the thickness setting at zero: After use, the thickness plate is closed to cover the edge of the blade.
Cleaning: The blade is cleaned after the machine is unplugged, with cut-resistant gloves and the manufacturer's blade removal tool.

The safety and hygiene requirements for these machines are in the TS EN 1974 standard.

Entrapment points on packaging machines

On filling, sealing and packaging lines, the risks are conveyor transfer points, heated sealing jaws and film cutting blades. Removing jammed packaging by hand while the machine is running is the typical accident scenario on these lines. The basic measures here are interlocked guards that stop the line when their covers are opened, a safe stopping procedure for clearing jams, and fixed guards that prevent reaching under conveyors.

Hygienically designed food machine guards

The way to reconcile hygiene and safety is to design the guard to be cleanable. The general hygiene requirements for food machinery are set out in the TS EN 1672-2 standard. Use the following table when choosing a food machine guard or improving an existing machine:

Machine	Common mistake	Hygienic and safe solution
Mincer	Hopper widened, pusher lost	Original hopper and pusher; interlock that stops operation when the chamber is removed
Dough mixer	Grid removed and left to one side	Stainless steel grid removable without tools that stops the machine when opened
Slicer	Guard ring not refitted after cleaning	Manufacturer's cleaning tool and a design that does not run without the ring fitted
Packaging	Cover switch bridged	Food-grade, easy-to-clean interlock switch and supervised fault clearing
Conveyor	Fixed guard removed for washing	Hinged or quick-release guard that stops the belt when opened

The common features of a hygienic guard are stainless, smooth surfaces, few corners and screw heads that trap dirt, and removal without tools, while the machine does not run when it is removed. A fixed guard that can be removed without tools may still be taken off and left off if used without an interlock; so the two should be considered together. If a guard is to be retrofitted to an old machine, plan it with the manufacturer or a competent machinery safety expert so that the change does not create new risks.

A six-step safe cleaning procedure

Stop: Stop the machine from the controls and wait for all movement to end.
Isolate: Unplug it, or switch off and lock the isolator; the key stays with the person cleaning.
Verify: Press the start button to check that the machine does not run.
Dismantle and clean: Remove the parts in the order given in the manufacturer's instructions; use cut-resistant gloves for blades and sharp parts.
Refit and check: Refit all guards; test that interlocked guards work and that the machine does not start while they are open.
Record: Enter the cleaning and the guard check on the shift form.

Turn this procedure into a written instruction, post it next to the machine and have every new employee carry it out at the machine. For the safety data sheets of detergents and disinfectants used in cleaning see our article on working with chemical substances, and for glove selection our article on the PPE use regulation. Our article on OHS culture can guide you in building a team that questions why a guard has been removed.

In the risk assessment, do not cover food machinery in a single line under the heading "kitchen equipment". Open a separate line for each machine and score the use, cleaning, fault clearing and maintenance stages separately. The moments when guards are removed and hands enter the danger zone are usually not production but these non-routine jobs. Attach the machine's user manual, list of guards and latest maintenance record to the assessment; and when buying a new machine, write CE marking, a Turkish-language manual and interlocked guards into the purchase specification.

For bakeries, meat processing and catering businesses in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, machine-by-machine risk assessment and the preparation of cleaning instructions are part of our risk assessment and OHS specialist services. Other sector-specific risks are on our food page; you can see your specialist, physician and training obligations for your number of employees with the OHS obligations calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it mandatory to use the pusher on a meat mincer?

The pusher is part of the guarding system specified by the manufacturer and makes pushing the meat down by hand unnecessary. If the pusher is missing or broken, do not use the machine until a new one is obtained; pushing with a hand, a spoon or another object is the main cause of accidents.

Can guards be removed for cleaning?

Yes, in the way specified by the manufacturer and with the machine stopped and isolated from its energy supply. What matters is that the guard is refitted after cleaning and that the machine does not run until it is. This is why interlocked guards should be preferred.

Are gloves used on a slicer?

Cut-resistant gloves are used when cleaning and removing the blade. However, gloves do not replace blade guarding. Whether gloves present a risk of being caught when working close to rotating parts is also assessed separately in the risk assessment.

How do I make an old machine safe?

First examine the machine as a separate heading in the risk assessment: which areas can a hand reach, and which guards are missing or disabled? Then obtain the missing guards from the manufacturer or a competent supplier, add interlocks and rewrite the cleaning procedure. If guarding cannot be achieved, replacing the machine comes onto the agenda.