Nation’s largest cookie maker cited by OSHA three times in 2015
Posted December 10, 2015
According to OSHA, a 41-year-old worker cleaning product waste from a factory floor suffered severe scalp injuries and multiple lacerations when a machine caught her hairnet, resulting in her hospitalization for four days. This is the third serious injury involving machine hazards reported this year by the Ohio-based manufacturer, which bakes cookies and crackers for national brands.
After an inspection, OSHA issued the company one repeated, three serious, and one other-than-serious safety violation on November 17 for failing to protect workers from machinery operating parts. OSHA has proposed penalties of $47,000 for the July 2015 injury.
Previously, OSHA cited the company in April 2015 and September after workers had fingertips amputated in accidents at the plant. The company reported the three injuries to OSHA under a rule that took effect in January 2015, which requires employers to report amputations and workplace hospitalizations to the agency within 24 hours.
The company settled the citations issued in April 2015 and has contested those issued in September.
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