WASHINGTON — The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Sugar Creek Packing Co. for safety violations after an employee suffered injuries from falling into a machine earlier this year.

According to an OSHA news release, the 35-year-old Sugar Creek Packing employee suffered severe leg burns, degloving of their foot and other injuries upon falling into corrosive chemicals at the company’s Washington Court House, Ohio, plant.

OSHA’s investigation found that the employee was changing bearings on a fan motor and fell into a tree hangar machine used to sanitize and clean hanging meat racks.

OSHA said Sugar Creek Packing lacked required energy control procedures, commonly known as lockout/tagout. The agency added that the company failed to ensure that employees wore chemically resistant clothing and were trained to perform servicing and maintenance activities on the plant’s tree wash, belly press and drench cabinet.

Sugar Creek Packing previously violated federal safety regulations in incidents dating back to 2014. OSHA cited the company in 2019 and 2022 for other violations.

OSHA issued citations for two repeat and six serious violations and one other-than-serious violation. Combined, the proposed penalties total $277,904 to be paid by Dec. 13.

Sugar Creek Packing said in a statement to MEAT+POULTRY that it has fully cooperated with OSHA’s inspection of the Washington Court House plant. The company plans to meet with OSHA in an effort to resolve the claims.

“We never want to see anyone hurt, especially on the job,” said a Sugar Creek representative. “We take safety seriously. We are committed to continuous improvement by investing time, attention and resources toward making our workplace and workforce one of the safest in the industry. We appreciate the support from the industry in our continued growth.”