Poultry processing and packaging company Maple Lodge Farms has been fined $500,000 after a worker was injured at the plant in Brampton more than two years ago.
As per an Ontario court bulletin, the incident leading to the injury occurred on March 16, 2024.
A hose carrying carbon dioxide, connected to a vacuum blender that uses the chemical compound to cool products during processing, ruptured. As a result, more than 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide was released uncontrolled in the deli area. A worker who was in the area at the time was critically injured due to exposure to carbon dioxide.
An investigation found that there was no carbon dioxide sensor or alarm system in place to alert workers and the company failed to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers in the circumstances. After the incident, the company installed a permanent carbon dioxide sensor in the area.
Maple Lodge Farms plead guilty in the Provincial Offences Court in Brampton and was fined $500,000 along with a 25 per cent victim surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge goes to a special provincial fund that assists victims of crime.
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