Bumble Bee Faces Fines, Jail Time For Cooked Worker
LOS ANGELES, CA – Bumble Bee Foods was penalized over $132,000 by OSHA, and could face up to $1.5 million in fines from a Los Angeles DA lawsuit that resulted from the 2012 death of an employee in an industrial pressure cooker oven.
According to the DA, Jose Melena, 62, a six-year employee of the Santa Fe Springs, California, plant, entered a 36-foot long pressure cooker oven that was 54 inches high and wide. The oven is used to sterilize cans containing tuna.
Coworkers were unaware that he was in the oven when they loaded carts holding six tons of tuna into the oven, closed the door, and turned on the super-heated pressurized steam cooker. During the two-hour heat sterilization process, the oven’s internal temperature rose to about 270 degrees.
After the shift supervisor and coworkers noticed Melena was missing, and after a thorough search of the facility, Melena’s severely burned remains were found in the oven.
In addition to Bumble Bee Foods facing heavy fines for the incident, the Director of Plant Operations and the former Safety Manager face a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and/or a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Bubble Bee Foods issued a statement saying safety has always been a top priority at the plant and that it has made the safety program even more robust since the 2012 fatality. It said that the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration found no willful violations when it investigated the accident.
While there were no willful citations issued to Bumble Bee Foods for this incident, the company did receive five Serious, and two Other citations for issues including insufficient lockout/tagout and confined space entry programs. Had Bumble Bee Foods taken either of those two programs seriously, Jose Melena may still be alive today.
While OSHA was inspecting the Bumble Bee Foods facility following the fatal incident, they investigated a forklift incident that had occurred earlier that same year and issued a citation of $25,000 for improper forklift use. OSHA also issued two other citations for a grand total of $132,430 for the visit to Bumble Bee Foods on October 11, 2012.
“We remain devastated by the loss of our colleague Jose Melena in the tragic accident,” said the company. “We disagree with and are disappointed by the charges filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.” The company is exploring all of its legal options.