CENTRE HALL — Hanover Foods Corporation’s Centre Hall facility was found in violation of dozens of safety and health hazards, according to a press release by the U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday, April 23.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Hanover Foods Corp. for dozens of violations, including nine repeat, 51 serious and 11 other-than-serious violations.
OSHA initially opened an investigation into the Centre Hall facility in October 2023 after receiving a complaint alleging hazards relating to the company’s handling of highly hazardous chemicals, according to the press release. Some of the infractions included process safety management failures, including:
- Lack of training
- Not properly correcting equipment deficiencies
- Undocumented proof that the company’s equipment was in compliance with good engineering practices
- Lack of established emergency plan for the plant
As a result, OSHA proposed a total of $761,876 in fines for Hanover Foods Corp.
“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 the press release. “We will use all of our resources to hold employers accountable when they neglect their legal duty to protect their workers from harm.”
Hanover Foods Corp. operates eight other manufacturing plants, including five in Pennsylvania and one in each of Delaware, New Jersey and Guatemala. The Clayton, Delaware, facility was cited for similar violations by OSHA in both 2019 and 2021.
Hanover Foods Corp. had 15 business days from the receipt of the citations to comply with or contest the findings.
