Worker lost finger working with machinery in Illinois, feds say. Pasta company is cited
A popular food company known for its refrigerated pasta was fined thousands of dollars after an employee using machinery at an Illinois factory lost a finger, officials say.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a Nov. 2 release that it found a multitude of safety violations at Rana Meal Solutions LLC’s manufacturing facility in Bartlett after receiving a report of a severe employee injury there.
It’s the third time in five years the food company was unable to meet safety standards that would “prevent workers from coming into contact with moving machine parts,” officials said.
Rana Meal Solutions LLC, also known by its brand name Giovanni Rana, produces a variety of perishable, typically refrigerated, Italian foods, including pasta and sauce.
At Rana’s Bartlett manufacturing location, an employee was “trying to find a piece of a broken ball valve” that became lodged in machinery along the pasta sauce line, according to OSHA. The worker’s finger got caught, causing it to be amputated, officials said.
Rana did not return McClatchy News’ request for comment on Nov. 3.
When federal investigators checked out the facility, they reported finding some employees were not following proper lockout procedures — a safety process used to fully shut off a machine — when performing maintenance on the pasta sauce line machines or other equipment. Rana also did not complete annual lockout procedure inspections, officials said, which was a safety violation the company was cited for in 2020.
Safety violations in both 2019 and 2020 served as warning signs of potential danger for Rana employees, OSHA Area Director Jacob Scott said in the release. Those continued safety failures contributed to the Bartlett employee walking away with “a painful, disfiguring injury,” Scott said.
“Once again, our inspectors found Rana Meal Solutions LLC ignoring federal safety requirements to make sure dangerous machines are guarded or fully de-energized before they are maintained or serviced,” Scott said.
OSHA cited Rana for almost 15 different safety violations, according to the release. The total proposed financial penalties for the company is more than $272,000, officials said.
Other alleged OSHA safety infractions against the food company included:
- No guardrail installations to block employees from potentially falling “into dangerous machinery from above.”
- Improper storage of chemicals in unventilated rooms.
- Incomplete coverings of chains and sprockets on machines to prevent injury.
Bartlett is about 35 miles northwest of Chicago.
This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Worker lost finger working with machinery in Illinois, feds say. Pasta company is cited."
