An employee pictured on the Kerry.com website (Courtesy: Kerry.com)

Federal workplace investigators cited a food company in Melrose Park Dec. 5 for repeated unsafe workplace practices, after two workers were seriously injured by baking machinery.

Ireland-based Kerry, Inc. was recommended for a fine of $87,000 for the two incidents, which were classified as “serious” by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Both worker injuries happened in the company’s bakery, OSHA said. A maintenance worker’s left hand was amputated Aug. 17 as he attempted to unclog dough from the breadcrumb conveyer, OSHA reported. Six weeks later, on Sept. 27, a 57-year-old man’s right forearm was lacerated when he tried to clean material from the mixing blades of a “dough chunker,” OSHA’s report said.

The company, also called Kerry Ingredients and Flavours, is located in an 84,000-square-foot facility at 3141 W. North Ave. in Melrose Park.

In both cases, OSHA said, the company had failed to install correct “lockout/tagout” procedures that keep machinery’s parts from shifting with stored electricity while being serviced, the report said.

“The tragic loss of one employee’s hand failed to serve as a catalyst for Kerry to re-evaluate its machine safety procedures,” said Angeline Loftus of OSHA’s Region Five office in Des Plaines in a press release. “Subsequently, the lack of such procedures caused a second worker to suffer severe injuries.” Loftus said the injuries were avoidable if the factory had followed standard safety procedures. “Kerry needs to make immediate changes to its safety procedures to protect its workers on the job,” she added.

Kerry representatives in Melrose Park did not respond to a phone message left for comment. An email to the parent company website received no response.

Kerry, Inc. employs 23,000 people worldwide, and has U.S. headquarters in Beloit, Wis. The food and beverage company is a multi-billion dollar firm that sells products in 140 countries, according to the OSHA complaint.

OSHA previously cited a New Jersey Kerry, Inc. facility in 2011 for the same workplace violation, a press release said. Because the company had been cited before, a higher fine was recommended.

Kerry had 15 days to respond to the proposed fines, Loftus said in an email. The company has until Dec. 30 to demonstrate compliance with OSHA safety procedures.

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— OSHA fines Melrose Park industrial bakery after worker injuries–