Tuna
Tuna has shown to raise bloodstream levels of omega-3 acids. Research shows that including fish like tuna in a regular diet plan is important. Tuna increases the presence of omega 3 in the membranes of red blood cells and blood vessel linings. Reuters

A maintenance worker was cooked inside the industrial oven of Bumble Bee Tuna in October 2012 with 12,000 pounds of canned tuna.

The New York Post reports that 62-year-old Jose Melena was doing maintenance work in an industrial oven, measuring 35 foot long, at Bumble Bee’s facility in Santa Fe. A co-worker, unaware that Melena was inside the oven, filled it with tonnes of tuna and turned on the oven.

The co-worker thought that Melena was in the bathroom, however, when a supervisor noticed he was missing, a search was made in the plant and parking lot. They found his corpse after two hours when the pressure cooker was turned off and opened. At its peak, the pressure cooker reached a temperature of 270 degrees.

In a statement, Bumble Bee claimed it threw away the entire batch of tuna exposed to the human remains.

"The product in the 2012 incident was in sealed cans and was not compromised. Even so, all the product has been discarded," read the company's statement.

For this breach of safety regulations, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health charged on Monday Angel Rodriguez, plant operations director, and Saul Flores, ex-safety manager, with three counts each of violation of Occupational Safety & Health Administration regulations that caused a death.

These rules mandate the implementation of a safety plan, having rules for workers who enter confined spaces and procedures on keeping machinery or equipment turned off it under maintenance. The two face up to three years prison term and fines of up to $250,000.

Bumble Bee, based in San Diego, was previously fined by the same agency $74,000 for its failure to properly asses the risk that workers face when working in large ovens. The firm, which now faces the maximum fine of $1.5 million, then appealed the case and said it has further improved its safety programme following Melena’s death.

The firm said it is devastated by the death of Melena but disagrees and is disappointed with the charges that the agency filed with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au

This article has been revised to include further statements from the Bumble Bee Tuna. We eliminated content that do not conform with our editorial standards.

RELATED STORIES