PLOVER, WI – A 20-year-old seasonal worker at a Del Monte Foods cannery in Plover, Wisconsin, experienced a life-altering injury when they suffered a partial amputation of their finger. The incident occurred while trying to unjam an unguarded palletizer machine, prompting a federal workplace safety investigation.
Upon receiving the employer’s report of the amputation injury, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began an investigation. Their findings revealed that the facility’s lack of machine guarding and safety procedures exposed employees to machine hazards. The company had been cited for similar violations in 2019 at another Wisconsin facility located in Markesan.
Investigators discovered that workers at the Plover facility routinely used their hands to redirect pallets stuck in the palletizer’s dispenser. The pallet dispenser automatically dispenses pallets to the palletizing line, where canned products are stacked and wrapped for transportation. The investigation also found that employees who cleared jams were not trained to recognize or safely control hazardous energy sources during the unjamming process.
OSHA cited Del Monte Foods Inc. for two repeated and six serious safety violations of machine safety and fall protection standards. As a result, the company faces proposed penalties of $222,779. Del Monte Foods informed OSHA of the amputation injury within the required 24-hour window.
OSHA Area Director Robert Bonack in Appleton, Wisconsin, emphasized the importance of training seasonal workers on machine safety procedures and ensuring required machine safeguards are in place. Bonack stated, “If the company had followed OSHA safety standards, they could have prevented this young worker from needlessly suffering a lifelong disabling injury.”
In addition to the issues regarding machine guarding and hazardous energy control procedures, OSHA identified a lack of handrails and anti-slip coatings. These deficiencies exposed cannery workers to fall hazards on ladderways and stairs.
Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Del Monte Foods Inc. is one of the nation’s largest producers, distributors, and marketers of branded retail food products. The Plover facility alone produces 14 million cases of canned vegetables annually. The company’s product portfolio includes well-known brands such as Del Monte, Contadina, College Inn, Joyba, Kitchen Basics, and S&W.
Del Monte Foods has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
For more information on OSHA and preventing worker amputations from unguarded machines, as well as the Local Emphasis Program for the Food Manufacturing Industry, visit OSHA’s website:
Preventing worker amputations from unguarded machines
Local Emphasis Program for the Food Manufacturing Industry
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