Factory fined after staff injured in a chocolate accident

A factory that makes M&Ms and Mars Bars has been fined more than £12,000 after an accident in which two workers fell into a vat of chocolate and were injured.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Mars Wrigley in the June 2022 accident at the Pennsylvania M&M/Mars factory, saying the workers were not authorised to work in the tanks and were not properly trained on the proper safety procedures for the equipment.

Officials said the two workers, who were employed by an external contracting firm, fell into the partially filled chocolate tank while doing maintenance work at the site in Elizabethtown, US.

Officials said emergency responders were able to free the two workers by cutting a hole in the bottom of the tank.

Both were taken to the hospital, one by helicopter.

A company representative told reporters that the safety of workers and outside contractors “is a top priority for our business”…

“As always, we appreciate OSHA’s collaborative approach to working with us to conduct the after-action review,” the representative said.

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