UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 10:30 a.m. on December 27, 2021, an employee was working for a wholesale food service distributor. Other workers there were operating a VARIOVAC Optimus 35 r ollstock sealing machine, when it became jammed and stopped operation in mid-cyc le. They called the employee over to fix the machine. Without deenergizing the m achine, he removed a safety cover to access the area where he believed the machi ne was stuck. With a hammer, he tapped the outside of the machine to dislodge th e part of the machine that was stuck. The employee was leaning on one hand as he tapped the outside of the machine. When the obstruction was dislodged, the mach ine resumed its cycle. A part came up and pinched the hand the employee had been leaning on between the seal plate and the seal head. His hand was pinched by ro ughly 90 pounds (400 newtons) of force up against a seal plate that was heated t o roughly 130 degrees Celsius (266 degrees Fahrenheit). The device would not rel ease. The machine operator hit the emergency power stop button and then the stop cycle button to try to release the box, but it did not release. At this point m anagement was notified, and facilities personnel were brought down to help relea se the box. The employee's hand was crushed and burned. He was hospitalized.