[The Bergamo experience of health surveillance in the bakery sector]

The purpose of this study is to analyse the various risk factors present in the artisan and semi industrial bread making technological cycle as well as verify the kind of illnesses and ailments encountered amongst the workforce. The objective being to identify a preventive action programme together with the necessary Health support measures. Our case study, drew upon a sample of 428 workers (252 bread makers and 176 sales staff). Each of them was asked to complete a questionnaire about the production process, the kind of exposure to wheat flour particles, smoking habits, present or past common allergy pathologies, the symptoms connected to the work, both in the allergic and osteomuscular field. Those positive respondents were subjected to various medical tests so as to ascertain a definitive diagnosis of their ailments. As was easy to predict, the most common pathology (ailment), found amongst bread makers, related to the respiratory system--16.7% of the population. In particular, 7.5% was affected by eye rhinitis, 2.8% by allergic bronchial asthma, 3.2% indicated a mix between rhinitis and bronchial asthma and 3.2% by BPCO. Skin ailments affected 2% of workers and WMSDs more than 2.8%.