Respiratory symptoms and sensitization in bread and cake bakers

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Allergology
• Industrial hygiene

Background:

• Bakery workers face exposure to airborne allergens like wheat flour, soya flour, and fungal amylase.
• Work-related respiratory symptoms and sensitization are potential health concerns in this occupational group.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between exposure to specific airborne substances and the development of symptoms and sensitization in bakery workers.
• To determine the prevalence of work-related symptoms and sensitization to wheat flour, soya flour, and fungal amylase.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 394 bread and 77 cake bakery workers performing tasks like sieving, weighing, and mixing.
• Health surveillance through interviews to identify respiratory symptoms and skin-prick testing for sensitization.
• Personal air sampling to measure 8-hour time-weighted average exposures to inhalable dust from ingredients.

Main Results:

• Work-related symptoms were reported by 20.4% of bread bakers and 10.4% of cake bakers, often intermittent and likely due to irritant dust.
• Allergic symptoms were rare; sensitization prevalence to fungal amylase was significantly higher in bread bakers (16%) compared to cake bakers (1%).
• Fungal amylase was identified as the principal sensitizer in large-scale bread bakeries, primarily from handling bread improvers.

Conclusions:

• Fungal amylase is the primary occupational sensitizer in bread bakeries, linked to handling bread improvers.
• Exposure to wheat flour and soya flour presents a lower risk of sensitization in both bread and cake bakeries.
• High dust levels likely cause non-specific irritant effects, rather than allergies, for most reported symptoms in bakery workers.