The maker of some well-known snack foods has reached a region-wide settlement agreement with OSHA which includes paying a fine and upgrading its safety program at eight facilities.
J&J Snack Foods, based in Pennsauken, NJ, has agreed to pay a $152,934 penalty and improve safety and health at the company’s eight food manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout New Jersey and New York.
OSHA cited J&J in September 2018 following an inspection at a Pennsauken facility for four lockout/tagout violations – one willful, one repeat and two serious. J&J failed to train employees and use procedures to control hazardous energy when they service and maintain machinery, according to OSHA. The original penalty was $206,019. J&J originally contested the violations. The settlement reflects a 25% reduction.
In addition to the penalty, J&J has agreed to:
- hire a full-time corporate safety director to manage and coordinate safety and health across all facilities
- hire a full-time site-safety manager to coordinate safety and health at the cited facility
- hire a qualified safety and health professional as an outside consultant to conduct two comprehensive safety and health inspections per year and implement a written safety and health program
- provide its employees with safety and health training in a language they understand, and
- establish a safety and health committee with employees, union representatives and managers as members to recommend more safety improvements.
J&J manufactures and distributes several popular brands of snack foods, including Icee, SuperPretzel and Luigi’s Real Italian Ice.
