Earlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) imposed fines for several different Texas-based food processing companies as a result of health and safety violations. Although the fines were minimal in comparison to some of the larger ones given out in the past, they were still a wake-up call to food processing companies trying to cut corners. Here we’ll take a closer look at a few of the Texas companies fined by the OSHA and reveal what they did, or didn’t do, to receive these fines.
One of the companies fined by the OSHA was BCW Foods Inc., which is a food processing company based in Dallas, Texas. OSHA cited them with a total of 12 safety violations and one serious health violation. They were first alerted to BCW Foods Inc. after a worker became trapped in a blending mixer machine while performing routine cleaning and maintenance work. Thankfully, nothing happened to the worker, but this raised eyebrows in regards to the level of safety by BCW Foods Inc. employees. Once the OSHA carried out an inspection of the premises, they found 12 safety and 1 health violation.
As a result of the violations discovered by OSHA, BCW Foods Inc. was fined roughly $54,000. While this isn’t enough to cause any serious disruption in their business, it will hopefully get them on the right track to improving the level of safety in their workplace. Anytime a company is fined, no matter how large or small, they are placed under a magnifying glass for others to see.
Another company under the limelight for all the wrong reasons is Five Star Custom Foods Ltd., which is a food processing company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The OSHA cited the company for an accumulative total of 25 health and safety violations. According to the report, Five Star Custom Foods Ltd. operated heavy machinery in ways that may have caused serious injury or death to their employees. In addition, they failed to adhere to good engineering practices set forth by the industry.
Both of these fines are relatively new, so it may take some time before the companies make changes to their operating practices. However, anytime serious safety violations are found, it’s critical for the company to take immediate action to fix the problem. A serious safety violation is defined as a negligent act that may cause the death of a worker, and that’s nothing to mess around with.