OSHA Fines Food Manufacturer $152K for Machine HazardsOSHA Fines Food Manufacturer $152K for Machine Hazards

Snack food and frozen beverages manufacturer and distributor J&J Snack Foods Corporation was ordered to pay a $152,934 fine as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on citations for machine-related hazards. 

OSHA issued willful and repeat citations to the company in September 2018 after inspectors uncovered serious machine hazards, including failing to provide training to workers and use procedures to control hazardous energy when serving or performing maintenance on machines. 

Under the terms of the region-wide settlement, J&J Snack Foods will hire a new full-time corporate safety director to lead occupational safety efforts across its facilities and a full-time site safety manager for each of its production plants and warehouses in the region. OSHA also said the firm will hire a qualified safety and health processional to carry out two comprehensive safety and health inspections annually.

J&J Snack Foods must also create and implement a written safety and health program consistent with the agency’s guidelines on best practices and provide training to workers on health and safety hazards in a variety of languages. The settlement also stipulates the formation of a safety and health committee made up of workers, union officials, and managers to examine on-going issues. 

“This settlement shows that the department’s enforcement efforts leading to positive changes on important safety issues,” OSHA Regional Solicitor Jeffrey S. Rogoff said in a statement. “A repeat violator with a history of safety problems related to machine hazards took responsibility and is improving those conditions across the region, beyond the violations identified by a single inspection at a single facility.”

Employers are required to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

Get information or register for Powder Show Toronto, June 4-6, 2019

For more news headlines, articles, and equipment reviews, visit our Equipment Zones