A frozen food manufacturer has been fined $185,700 in penalties for serious safety and health violations at its Atlanta facility.
OSHA cited Schwan’s Global Supply Chain Inc. for 32 safety and health violations. The Minnesota-based Schwan’s makes frozen foods sold under several brand names, including Red Baron pizza and Mrs. Smith’s desserts.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also cited two other companies, Cimco Refrigeration Inc. and Adecco USA Inc. Those companies provide maintenance and staffing services for Schwan’s, according to the agency.
“All workers, whether full-time or temporary, deserve the same commitment and access to a safe workplace. Schwan’s, Cimco Refrigeration and Adecco are not providing that for their employees,” Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-east area office, said in a statement. “OSHA standards are there to protect workers from predictable and preventable injuries and deaths. These standards were disregarded at the expense of worker safety.”
OSHA said the companies did not provide adequate training for employees to work safely with ammonia, which is used in refrigeration. Workers were also exposed to unguarded machines and damaging noise levels. OSHA inspected the Schwan’s facility in September 2013, following a worker complaint, according to the agency.
The Minnesota-based company employs 14,000 employees nationwide. The Atlanta facility, which produces dough, cookies and pie crusts for popular products, employs about 494 workers, according to OSHA.
OSHA fined the Adecco staffing agency $58,500 after citing the firm for allowing its temp staffers to work at Schwan’s. The agency also fined Cimco $20, 160 for allowing its contract workers to be exposed to excessive noise levels at Schwan’s.
