Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at BelGioioso Cheese, Inc., 4056 Vine Road, FREEDOM, WISCONSIN 54913
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s).
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Final narrative
An employee was observing a cheese process line. They attempted to remove some cheese build-up from the process line when their right middle finger got pinched in the product molder, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
Amputation Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) Dairy and milk processing machinery
An employee was moving a tote full of empty tubes/molds for provolone and salami in a cart. A bar used to secure the molds in the cart came out of its holder and swung down, pinching the employee's right little finger against the cart frame. The fingertip was amputated.
On May 22, 2025, an employee was loading molds filled with cheese into a holding cage in preparation to place them in a cooling tank. A mold slipped from his hand, catching his right middle finger against the frame of the cage. He sustained an amputation to the fingertip.
On November 1, 2023, an employee was troubleshooting a cardboard baler. After verifying that the power was on, the employee went to check the oil that was at the back of the control panel. When the employee grabbed the cap for the oil fill, they were shocked by a 480-volt transformer. The employee suffered electrical burns to the hand as well as a dislocated shoulder.
An employee was working in a laboratory adjacent to a boiler room when she was exposed to carbon monoxide emissions from a boiler exhaust leak. She suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and was hospitalized.
A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311513)
An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
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 changing an O-ring on a pneumatic valve. The employee had placed the valve on his work cart and was applying air to open the valve and access the O-ring. After changing the O-ring, the valve closed on his fingertip, crushing it. He was taken to the hospital, where he received an amputation.
An employee was using a pike to move a pallet of sugar that was stuck in the powder racking. The employee fell backward, landing on his right leg. The employee's leg was fractured and he was hospitalized.
The injured employee was carrying totes of cheese when they tripped over another employee's foot/ankle and fell to the cement floor. The injured employee sustained six fractured ribs on the left side and was hospitalized.
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.