Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313644064 - Custom Food Products Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At about 3:45 p.m. on October 14, 2011, Employee #1 was working for a firm that prepared raw meat products for such food industry customers as chain grocery stores. Employee #1 was a contract employee. He was working in the ready-to-eat section of the employer's facility. The employer utilized a wide variety of food processing machines, such as cutters, choppers, dividers, slicers, and grinders. Employee #1 was opening up rolls of ground meat that were encased in tubular plastic wraps. Next, he fed them onto the conveyor belt of a Model Number 5100 Carruthers slicing machine, with Serial Number 51174. Employee #1 noticed that the rolls of ground meat had bunched up toward the rear of the conveyor. He walked toward the back of the machine and reached in with his left hand, under the guard housing. His hand was at the end of the conveyor belt, where the ground meat roll was cut and where it exited the unit. At one point, his fingers made contact with the running rotating blades. Three fingers on his left hand were amputated. He was hospitalized. The accident was reported to the Division by the employer four hours later on the same day.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FOOD PREPARATION, FINGER, GUARD, WORK RULES, FOOD PACKAGING MACH, JAMMED, STRUCK BY, BLADE, CONVEYOR BELT