The food retail industry is regarded as having a low risk of work-related injuries despite the wide
range of work activities and hazards involved. Most grocery store work is physically demanding.
In South Africa, studies that investigated occupational injuries in the food retail industry are
limited. This study investigated the demographics and patterns of work-related injuries in a food
retail industry in Gauteng, over a 3 year cycle (2005-2007). A quantitative retrospective design
using injury registers and employees’ medical records identifi ed a total of 586 injuries during a
3-year cycle. The highest proportion was in 2006 (40.2%), followed by 34.1% in 2007 and 25.6%
in 2005. Most frequent injuries were soft tissue and musculoskeletal injuries, commonly among
packers and general assistants. Common sources were slipping or falling followed by objects
falling from a height.
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