LAKEWOOD – An Ocean County ice cream maker faces fines in the amount of $237,000 after two workers lost fingers in same machine.
Federal officials have reported that employees of Lakewood based Fieldbrook Foods Corporation suffered amputation injuries twice in two years while working on the same machine.
Fieldbrook Foods, which employs around 200 people, violated safety standards for preventing accidental machine startup, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The OSHA reported that a maintenance mechanic lost two fingers while repairing the machine in September 2020 and a sanitation worker lost one finger and fractured another when his fingers got caught as he tried fix the same jammed machine in 2018.
According a statement by the OSHA, “the company willfully failed to shut down and isolate energy to the machine during repair work.” OSHA has proposed $237,176 in penalties.
OSHA Area Director Paula Dixon-Roderick said “Fieldbrook Foods knew that machines must be completely disabled before workers perform service and maintenance. Instead of addressing the cited amputation hazards which led to two serious injuries, the company continues to expose its workers to dangerous machinery.”
The agency said Fieldbrook Foods has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply or request a hearing to contest the findings.
Fieldbrook Foods is a subsidiary of Wells Enterprises Inc. The firm produces frozen desserts under the brands Blue Bunny, Blue Ribbon, Original Bomb Pop and others.
Wells Enterprises which is the largest privately held, family-owned ice cream manufacturer in the United States, has not responded to news media requests for comment left on the company’s voicemail in Dunkirk, New York.
OSHA said Wells Enterprises produces more than 150 million gallons of ice cream per year.
