Hormel Foods Corporation

An employee was cleaning a label cutter drum with a rag. His left index finger was caught in the cutter resulting in amputation of the fingertip.

An employee was pulling paper through the bottom of a transfer belt and amputated their right index fingertip.

Employees were moving an auger to do repairs on the filler bowl. As the two employees touched the auger, they experienced an electrical shock. One employee was hospitalized with electrical burns.

On November 23, 2022, an employee was using a meat cutting machine. The machine became jammed and upon clearing the jam, the employee sustained an amputation to the left index finger.

An employee was clearing a jam in a baking mold press when their hand became caught. The employee was hospitalized for a wrist sprain and hand injury that required stitches.

An employee was changing a saw blade when the saw machine activated. The employee's left ring and little fingers were amputated.

An employee was clearing a jam from the label cutting machine when their left middle finger was partially amputated.

Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.

An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.

An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was moving three stacked bins with a pallet jack in the centering room. While turning, the bins struck a wall-mounted control panel, causing an unopened kettle behind the employee to open. Heated bone broth was released. The employee went to close the kettle and came in contact with the hot broth (approximately 200 degrees) resulting in second-degree burns to their legs.

An employee was emptying a strainer into a floor drain in front of a kettle in preparation for broth to be pumped from the kettle. The kettle was tilted and hot broth poured onto the employee, whose neck, back, and foot were scalded.

On January 26, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., an employee was replacing a temperature probe in a sterilizer and was burned by residual hot water and steam within the line. The employee was hospitalized for first- and second-degree burns to the face, neck, and arm.

An employee was working on a condenser in the power plant. He was pulling on the belts when a belt amputated their left ring fingertip.

An employee was using an onion peeler. As they went to remove stuck onion peels, the onion peeler caught their glove and pulled their hand in. The employee was hospitalized and required skin graft surgery.

The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.

An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.