Company in Wayne County Cited & Fined by OSHA

(Greenville) An Ireland-based food ingredients company, with 24,000 employees and more than 100 manufacturing locations worldwide, has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for one willful and eight serious safety violations after a worker died from a fall at the company’s liquid smoke production plant in Wayne County.

Kerry will have to pay a fine of around 223-thousand dollars.

An inspection by OSHA officials at the Greenville Kerry plant in April found that Kerry failed to provide fall protection to workers at the Greenville plant.

It was also found the company did not designate, train or educate a fire brigade on how to respond to emergencies, they failed to evaluate hazards to gauge the need for personal protective equipment, did not provide self-contained breathing apparatus, did not complete required safety data sheets and failed to repair damaged parts.

After receiving the citation, Kerry had 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with an OSHA director or contest the citations before an independent board.

Three years ago, it was announced that Kerry would expand its Greenville facility through an over 14-million dollar investment.

The Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission, Wayne County Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board and the Wayne County Commission also assisted the company with its expansion.