Julie Su Acting United States Secretary of Labor | Official Website
The U.S. Department of Labor has cited the Pan-O-Gold Baking Company, operating as Village Hearth, following an investigation into a disabling injury suffered by an employee at their Sun Prairie commercial baking facility. According to OSHA Area Director Chad Greenwood, the employee could have been spared from life-altering injuries if proper safety procedures had been in place.
Greenwood stated, “Pan-O-Gold Baking Company could have prevented this employee from suffering life-altering injuries by implementing required safety procedures to stop the machine from unexpectedly starting-up as he tried to adjust the sensor.”
This is not the first time the company has been under scrutiny for safety violations. In 2019, OSHA investigated amputation and laceration injuries at the same Sun Prairie location, finding that the company had failed to use and follow lockout/tagout procedures for machine safety.
In response to the recent incident, OSHA has cited the company for two repeat violations and several other serious and other-than-serious violations, proposing penalties totaling $262,953. The violations include failures to train employees in lockout/tagout energy control, provide adequate machine guarding, and report the employee's hospitalization.
Founded in 1911, Pan-O-Gold Baking Co. produces bread products under various brands and employs about 1,300 people across multiple locations. The company has 15 days to comply with the citations and penalties, request an informal conference, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
