FactSheet

Preventing Cuts and Amputations from 

Food Slicers and Meat Grinders

Food slicers and meat grinders used in food service industries such as grocery 

stores, restaurants and delicatessens can cause serious cuts and amputations when 

workers operate, perform maintenance, or clean the machines. This fact sheet 

provides employers with the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) and ways to prevent cuts and amputations in workplaces with 

food slicers and meat grinders. 

Introduction

Amputations are among the most severe workplace 

injuries and often result in permanent disability. In 

2013, at least 4,000 incidents involving meat slicers 

occurred that resulted in lost workdays. 

Food slicers (see Figure 1) are electrically-powered 

machines typically equipped with a rotary blade, an 

on/off switch, a thickness adjustment, and a food 

holder or chute. Operators 

may use a pushing/

guarding device, plunger, 

or gravity (e.g., with or 

without an attachment 

connected to the food 

holder) to apply pressure to 

the food against the slicer 

blade. 

Electric meat grinders 

typically have a feeding 

tray that holds uncooked 

meat as the worker pushes 

it into the machine. The 

meat is then pulled inside 

the grinder (see Figure 2) by the feed screw and 

then through the cutting plate. Other parts include 

an on/off switch, a reverse switch, and a food 

pusher (i.e., plunger). 

OSHA Regulations 

Employers must comply with the following OSHA 

standards (29 CFR) to protect workers from hazards 

associated with food slicers and meat grinders:

• 1910.212 Machine Guarding

• 1910.138 Hand Protection

• 1910.147 Control of Hazardous Energy

In addition, 29 CFR 1904.39 recording and reporting 

requirements may apply if a work-related incident 

results in an amputation, including fingertip 

amputations with or without bone loss.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prohibits 

workers under the age of 18, in non-agricultural 

occupations, from operating powered equipment 

considered hazardous, including food slicers and 

meat grinders. 

Preventing 

Food Slicer and 

Meat Grinder Injuries

All food slicer and meat 

grinder work activities 

present hazards that may 

result in severe cuts or 

amputations. Employers 

must select and provide 

workers with appropriate 

hand protection, including 

cut-resistant gloves, 

when there is potential for 

Figure 1

Figure 2
workers’ hands to come in contact with the blades. 

Safe work procedures also include fully retracting 

(zero) the blade when the slicer is not in use or when 

cleaning the blade. Employers should provide meat 

grinder operators with properly sized plungers to 

eliminate the need for their hands to enter the feed 

throat during operation.

Operating and cleaning food slicers and meat 

grinders are two separate work activities that may 

require additional hazard controls.

Preventing Worker Injuries When Using a 

Food Slicer 

When food slicers are in use, or turned off but still 

energized, the top and bottom of the slicer are 

hazardous areas where workers’ fingers and hands 

may contact the blade, causing serious cuts or 

amputations.

Rotary blade food slicers must be used with guards 

that cover the unused portions of the slicer blade 

on both the top and bottom of the slicer. Employers 

should buy slicers already equipped with a feeding 

attachment on the food holder sliding mechanism 

or purchase this attachment separately and install 

it before use. 

Worker training topics 

should include to:

• Never put a hand behind 

the food chute guard.

• Never place food into the 

slicer by hand-feeding or 

hand pressure. 

• Use a pushing/guarding 

device with chute-fed 

slicers.

• Use plungers to feed food into chute-fed slicers 

or use the feeding attachment located on the 

food holder.

• Turn off the food slicer when changing foods.

• Keep hands out of the danger zone on the back 

of the blade where the sliced food exits. 

• Turn off and unplug slicers when not in use or 

when left unattended for any amount of time.

Preventing Worker Injuries When Using a 

Meat Grinder 

Employers must ensure that meat grinders are 

retrofitted with a primary safeguard (e.g., properly 

designed tapered throat or fixed guard) if a 

worker’s hand may come into contact with the 

point-of-operation (i.e., the auger cutter area). 

Worker training topics should include to: 

• Only use a proper plunger when feeding meat 

into grinders.

• Operate grinders only when feeding trays and 

throats have been installed. 

• Use the meat grinder only for its intended purpose. 

• Turn off and unplug grinders when not in use or 

when left unattended for any period of time.

Preventing Injuries When Maintaining/

Cleaning a Food Slicer or Meat Grinder

Maintaining or cleaning a food slicer or meat 

grinder requires workers to remove protective 

guards. Employers must ensure that the food slicer 

or meat grinder will not unexpectedly start up and 

that workers’ hands are protected from severe 

cuts or amputations when guards are removed for 

maintenance or cleaning. 

A Lockout/Tagout (LO/TO) program is required 

under 29 CFR 1910.147 when the guards are 

removed unless the worker, maintaining or 

cleaning the unguarded machine, unplugs the food 

slicer from the energy source and has exclusive 

control of the plug to ensure that no one else can 

unexpectedly start the machine. 

A LO/TO program must include:

• Procedures for locking out or tagging out 

food slicers.

• Specific LO/TO training.

• Periodically review LO/TO procedures to ensure 

that all requirements are followed. 

The following safe maintenance/cleaning 

practices and procedures are explained in the 

manufacturer’s operating manual: 

• Adding distance between the hand and sharp 

edges by using a cleaning device with a handle.

• Wiping the blade from the center outward to 

avoid contact with the blade edge.

• Never wiping toward the blade when cleaning 

the slicer table.

Training Employers Should Provide 

Employers should ensure that all operators receive 

on-the-job training under the direct supervision of 

experienced operators until they can work safely 

on their own. Thorough operator training, including 

equipment-specific topics, should be based on the 

manufacturer’s recommendations and include the 

following safe operating and cleaning procedures 

for the equipment they will use: 
• Hazards associated with food slicers and meat 

grinders

• How to use the required safeguards and how 

they provide protection

• How and under what circumstances to remove 

safeguards (in most cases, by repair or 

maintenance personnel only)

• How to prevent unexpected start-up during 

cleaning or maintenance using appropriate LO/

TO procedures

• Hand protector usage and limitations

• What to do (e.g., contact the supervisor) if a 

safeguard is damaged, missing, or unable to 

provide adequate protection

Training is necessary for new operators and 

maintenance or setup workers, when any new 

or altered safeguards are put in service, or 

when workers are assigned to a new machine 

or operation.

Helpful Resources

Youth Worker Safety in Restaurants eTool - Food 

Preparation, OSHA. www.osha.gov/SLTC/youth/

restaurant/equipment_foodprep.html

Safeguarding Equipment and Protecting 

Employees from Amputations, OSHA publication 

3170-02R, 2007. www.osha.gov/Publications/

OSHA3170/3170-02R-2007-English.html

Meat Slicer Training and Safety, University of 

California Riverside. www.ehs.ucr.edu/safety/

recipes/Meat Slicer Safety.pdf

Additionally, many manufacturers have developed 

and posted videos on food slicer and meat grinder 

general use, cleaning, and safety. These videos are 

available on the manufacturer’s website or posted 

on popular video sharing websites.

Contact OSHA

For more information, to report an emergency, 

fatality or catastrophe, to order publications, to file 

a confidential complaint, or to request OSHA’s free 

on-site consultation service, contact your nearest 

OSHA office, visit www.osha.gov, or call OSHA at 

1-800-321-OSHA (6742), TTY 1-877-889-5627.

Workers’ Rights

Workers have the right to:

• Working conditions that do not pose a 

risk of serious harm. 

• Receive information and training (in a 

language and vocabulary the worker 

understands) about workplace hazards, 

methods to prevent them, and the OSHA 

standards that apply to their workplace. 

• Review records of work-related injuries 

and illnesses. 

• File a complaint asking OSHA to inspect 

their workplace if they believe there is a 

serious hazard or that their employer is 

not following OSHA’s rules. OSHA will 

keep all identities confidential.

• Exercise their rights under the law 

without retaliation, including reporting 

an injury or raising health and safety 

concerns with their employer or OSHA. 

If a worker has been retaliated against 

for using their rights, they must file 

a complaint with OSHA as soon as 

possible, but no later than 30 days. 

For more information, see OSHA’s 

Workers page.

DTSEM FS-3794 05/2015

This is one in a series of informational fact sheets highlighting OSHA programs, policies or standards. 

It does not impose any new compliance requirements. For a comprehensive list of compliance 

requirements of OSHA standards or regulations, refer to Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

This information will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. The voice phone 

is (202) 693-1999; teletypewriter (TTY) number: 1-877-889-5627.