Findings in title quoted from the linked summary^1 and peer-reviewed research paper.^2

From the linked summary:^1

>The researchers used a database maintained by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to investigate all severe injuries in the six years from 2015 to 2020 in the food supply chain.

>Their results documented 1,084 severe injuries and 47 fatalities during the six-year period although the researchers noted that actual figures could be twice as high.

>Data indicated that 2020 saw a significant increase in severe injuries as compared to previous years.

>In findings published this morning (Feb. 24) in the Journal of Safety Research, the researchers reported that fractures of the lower extremities were most prevalent, with the most frequent accident event type being transportation-related, such as pedestrian-vehicle incidents.

>Large retailers that sell food along with many other products — such as Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco — were not included in the research, Michael pointed out.

>“It would not have been possible for us to determine which of their accidents and injuries were related to moving food products. If we had somehow been able to include their statistics, of course, the injury numbers would be considerably higher.”

From the peer-reviewed research paper:^2

>In this paper, the term “product movement” is used somewhat synonymously with the typical “materials handling” terminology.

>Materials handling involves the lifting, movement, protection, storage, control, and placement of various kinds of materials. It can be done manually or using semiautomatic or automated equipment to move products from manufacturer to warehouse to retailer (Brauer, 2016).

>Grocery wholesalers and grocery retail stores saw the highest number of injuries, followed closely by the warehousing and storage groups.

>This was the first research to investigate occupational injuries related to transport packaging and related product movement in the food supply chain.

^1 Workers moving products in the U.S. food supply chain at high risk of injury, Jeff Mulhollem, Penn State University, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/workers-moving-products-us-food-supply-chain-high-risk-injury/

^2 Judd H. Michael and Serap Gorucu. (2023) Severe injuries from product movement in the U.S. food supply chain. Journal of Safety Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.02.007