Development and Validation of an Inherent Safety Self-Assessment Framework (ISSAF) for the Food Industry: A Multi-Case Study in Wheat Flour Tortilla Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector consistently reports a high incidence of occupational accidents, highlighting the need for proactive safety frameworks in strategic food industries such as wheat flour tortilla production. This study aims to develop and validate an Inherent Safety Self-Assessment Framework (ISSAF) that integrates occupational safety and food safety requirements. A mixed-methods multi-case study was conducted across three manufacturing plants with different automation levels in the San Fernando Valley, California. The framework integrates an expanded Ishikawa (5M) analysis, a Risk Analysis Questionnaire (RAQ), and a modified Inherent Safety Index (ISI) incorporating a Food Safety Risk Factor (FR-I). The RAQ demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.89). Results show that the implementation of inherent safety principles, particularly simplification and substitution, reduced the overall risk profile by up to 35 % in low-automation environments and 12–22 % in more automated plants. Additionally, the framework facilitated the identification and elimination of microbial accumulation zones associated with equipment design. The findings suggest that ISSAF is an effective tool for integrating occupational and food safety considerations. While statistical correlation was not formally tested, a consistent association was observed between automation level and risk reduction potential. The framework offers a scalable approach for improving safety performance and supporting more robust and adaptable food manufacturing systems.