Bumble Bee Foods is being charged with violating safety regulations regarding the death of a California maintenance worker, Jose Melena, who was killed after being trapped and cooked alive along with six tons of tuna fish. According to the New York Post, the incident took place back in 2012; Melena was thought to be in the restroom while he was actually performing maintenance on a 35-foot industrial oven. One of his co-workers at the Santa Fe Springs plant switched the oven on as it was filled with tuna fish, and Melena wasn’t found for another two hours.
While it’s taken almost three years, charges were finally brought against Bumble Bee and its plant operations director Angel Rodriguez and former safety manager Saul Florez. The latter two could face up to three years in prison and fines of $250,000 each if convicted, while Bumble Bee could be responsible for a fine of $1.5 million.
The charges were concerning safety violations and how to handle turning on large machines that need to be tended to by very vulnerable human beings who, like tuna fish, are made of meat and can be cooked in an oven. Basically, if there might be a person in an oven, Bumble Bee failed to take enough precautions to protect him. If not for the safety of the employees, then the people who eat the product. Ugh.
Tuna fish: The new Cracker Jacks.
Source: New York Post