OSHA Cites Food Manufacturer for Worker Health, Safety Violations

OSHA has again found Hanover Foods Corp., a large food manufacturer with a history of hazardous workplace safety practices, in violation of dozens of safety and health violations at its Centre Hall facility.

The producer of glass-pack, canned, frozen, refrigerated, freeze-dried, and snack foods under the Hanover brand as well as other private labels operates eight other manufacturing plants, including five in Pennsylvania and one each in Delaware, New Jersey, and Guatemala.

In October 2023, OSHA inspectors opened an investigation at the Centre Hall plant in response to a complaint alleging hazards involving the company's handling of highly hazardous chemicals, included in Hanover's Process Safety Management program.

OSHA cited the company for 70 violations, including nine repeat, 51 serious, and 11 other-than-serious violations. The infractions related to numerous Process Safety Management failures, such as lack of training; not correcting equipment deficiencies; failing to document that equipment complied with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices and to establish an emergency plan for the entire plant.

The agency has assessed Hanover Foods Corp. with $761,876 in penalties. OSHA cited the company for similar violations at its Clayton, DE, facility in 2019 and 2021.

“Hanover Foods Corp. put its employees at risk of serious safety and health hazards by not complying with federal and industry-recognized safety standards at another of its facilities,” said OSHA Area Director Kevin T. Chambers in Harrisburg, PA. “We will use all of our resources to hold employers accountable when they neglect their legal duty to protect their workers from harm."