The Mars Wrigley Candy Company has a factory in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. On June 9, 2022, two workers fell into a chocolate tank and couldn’t get out. More than 20 firefighters were sent to help, and the company has now been fined. The company got a $14,500,000 fine (about RM63,160).
The Guardian and BBC said that the accident happened around 2 p.m. on June 9, 2022, when two employees of an outsourced company were cleaning sample maintenance equipment and fell into a tank of chocolate syrup up to their waist. They were stuck and couldn’t get out.
More than 20 rescuers tried to get the two people out of the chocolate tank, but they couldn’t. Finally, they cut a hole in the bottom of the tank, which let the two people out. One of them was rescued and sent to the helicopter for emergency medical care.
Six months later, the investigation report said that the workers had fallen into a mixing tank used to mix the ingredients for Dove chocolate. It also said that the two workers had yet to be trained on how to use the equipment safely, nor had they gotten permission from their bosses to clean the tank.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) called the accident “serious” and fined Mars Wrigley $14,500 (RM63,160) as an employer for not making sure that workers knew how to clean the chocolate trough in the factory.
In response, a Mars Wrigley representative said that the safety of employees and contractors is “a top priority for our operations” and thanked OSHA for helping the company with the post-mortem review.
Mars Wrigley Confectionery Company is a global food chain leader that makes well-known brands like M&M chocolate, Snickers, Extra gum, and more.
