The world’s biggest sauerkraut company is in trouble with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after a worker fell into an empty sauerkraut vat and suffered serious injuries. They were inspected by the administration and cited for 9 violations, several of which they had been cited for in years past.

GLK Foods LLC processes 140,000 tons of raw cabbage every year, making them the world’s largest manufacturer of sauerkraut. They have facilities in New York and in Bear Creek, Wisconsin, which is where the incident occurred on October 27, 2015. A worker fell over 17 feet into an empty vat and broke several bones. OSHA inspected the facility after the incident (the fourth inspection since 2011 for this facility) and found multiple violations with proposed fines totaling $143,550.

They received one willful citation for exposing employees to fall hazards of up to 14 feet by asking them to walk over vats on just a scaffold plank that was just 28 inches wide and did not have side rails or toe guards. They received two repeat violations as well, one for failing to develop or implement a permit-required confined space entry program for workers, and another for failing to implement the required machine guards to protect workers from hazards like rotating parts or flying chips.

They received five serious violations for failing to implement plans and procedures that would allow workers to safely enter confined spaces with the required protections; they did not have things like a plan for rescuing workers or contacting emergency responders if they were in danger in a confined space. They failed to provide rescue equipment that would be necessary to help a worker who was in danger in a confined space if they needed it, and failed to test confined space atmospheric conditions. They also did not have procedures in place to lockout heavy machinery, which is how the employee fell into the vat in the first place when a conveyer started unexpectedly.

They also received one other-than-serious violation for failing to guard drains in the floor that employees may have tripped on.