Written question asked by Teresa Pearce (Labour) on Friday, 20 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 January 2012. It was answered by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Bakery: Safety

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of cases of asthma caused by contact with flour in the baking industry.

Answer: Statistics specifically about the number of cases of asthma caused by high exposure to flour within the baking industry are not available. Published statistics do not allow the causative agent for cases of occupational asthma to be identified within a specific occupational group. Statistics for the occupational group ““bakers and flour confectioners”” are provided and these reflect the role of flour dust as a cause of occupational asthma.Based on reports by chest physicians to the Surveillance of Work Related Occupational Respiratory Disease (SWORD) scheme and reports to the Occupational Physicians Reporting Activity (OPRA) scheme, the incidence of occupational asthma among ““bakers and flour confectioners”” during 2008–10 was estimated to be 19 cases per year. However, these statistics are subject to under-reporting and other statistical data sources suggest that the overall incidence of work-related asthma may be as much as tenfold higher than estimated by SWORD and OPRA.

Secondary information