Dive Brief:

• A Tyson Foods plant in Hutchinson, KS, has been placed under the federal government's Severe Violator Enforcement Program after inspectors cited the facility for multiple safety violations.
• The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tyson's disregard for safety was "willful" at the plant where a worker lost his hand on a conveyor belt in June. 
• A Tyson spokesperson said the company is reviewing OSHA's findings and will cooperate with regulators "to resolve these concerns."

Dive Insight:

The details that have emerged about the accident in June are shocking. In brief, OSHA found that safety guards that could have prevented the injury were removed from equipment for cleaning. Complicating matters was that workers were apparently not trained in how to disable the machinery to prevent it from being started. OSHA calls that "inexcusable," and we have to agree. What we also find inexcusable is that such violations expose the company to only $147,000 in fines.