OSHA cites Ohio food facility after production worker suffers arm amputation from cleaning auger
While cleaning an auger used to rice potatoes, a 39-year-old production worker at BEF Foods Inc. in Lima, Ohio found her left arm caught in a running auger. The worker suffered multiple lacerations and the partial amputation of her arm. Co-workers had to cut the auger apart to free her arm.
An investigation in September 2020 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that BEF Foods Inc. failed to shut down and isolate energy to the auger during maintenance work, a process known as lockout/tagout. The company, which operates as Bob Evans Farms, also failed to train employees on the required use of lockout/tagout procedures when conducting maintenance activities.