A follow-up inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor at an Atalla, Ala., meat processing and packing facility in July 2024 found the company failing to correct safety hazards identified in two inspections dating back to 2022, continuing to endanger workers.

In December 2022, investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Dean Sausage Co. Inc. with seven serious and seven other-than-serious violations for not ensuring machines had proper safety guards, failing to lockout/tagout machines before maintenance and servicing, using electric power and lighting installations unsafely and exposing employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards, electric shock and burns, and hazardous chemicals. 

OSHA returned to the processing facility in September 2023 for a follow-up inspection and again found many of the same violations. Dean’s Sausage received citations for nine repeat and two serious violations, as well as one other-than-serious violation. 

In its July 2024 inspection, OSHA cited the company for three repeat violations for not developing, documenting and using machine-specific lockout/tagout procedures, not training employees on the lockout/tagout program and failing to develop and implement a written hazard communication program for employees exposed to hazardous chemicals. The agency also cited two serious violations for missing electrical panel covers. 

“Putting employees at risk by neglecting safety is a reckless way to operate. Dean Sausage Company’s repeated disregard for worker safety shows a troubling priority of profits over people,” said OSHA Area Office Director Joel Batiz in Birmingham, Ala. “The company must correct its disturbing workplace safety failures before an employee suffers a needless injury or worse. The people who work there every day to help put food on our tables deserve better, and we will continue to hold the employer accountable until they make safety a priority.”

The company faces $103,245 in proposed penalties for violations found in the July 2024 inspection and $109,823 in penalties assessed after the 2022 and 2023 inspections. 

OSHA’s investigation at Dean Sausage Co. is part of a national emphasis program aimed at enforcing safety standards and educating employers and workers to reduce and raise awareness of amputation hazards in manufacturing.

Founded in 1955, Dean Sausage Co. manufactures and distributes fresh and frozen sausage products to grocery store retailers across the southern U.S.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor