One of KFC’s primary chicken suppliers aren’t going to be feeling so plucky after being levied with a number of heavy fines for workplace safety issues. Case Farms, the chicken supplier, and Cal-Clean, a subcontractor responsible for cleaning, have been ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in damages to their employees.
In a report that reads more like a horror movie script, inspectors have listed a variety of hazards including amputation, food poisoning, falls, respiratory illness and electrocution.
The Ohio-based chicken farm has seen some nightmarish accidents. One of the worst incidents involved a 17-year-old, legally underage to work there, having half of his leg torn off by machinery. If that weren’t enough, Case Farms added insult to injury by allegedly firing him for being unable to work following the injury.
Another case involving something called a “fat-sucker machine,” yes this is real, took off two of a man’s fingers. The company reportedly demanded that the man clean the machine while it was still running. This man was also fired soon after the accident.
An OSHA spokesperson, whose job it is to look into the most egregious violations of work safety, called Case Farms “one of the worst of the worst.” OSHA has placed Case Farms in the notorious Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which is reserved for those at the top of the list of employers with bad safety records.
Case Farms employs about 3,200 workers and produces nearly a billion pounds of chicken every year. In short, KFC chicken tenders likely cost somebody more than you may have previously thought.