Carbon Monoxide Leak Sickens 11 at OSI Group’s West Jordan, Utah, Plant

Dec. 9, 2024

One woman was found unconscious but safely removed from the plant, while 10 others were also taken to local hospitals after falling ill from the CO leak over the weekend.

Andy Hanacek

A carbon monoxide leak at OSI Group’s West Jordan, Utah, processing plant on Saturday, Dec. 7, sent 11 people to local hospitals, according to local news reports out of the Salt Lake City area.

Emergency crews were called to the facility after a woman was found unconscious in the plant. Fire crews removed the woman from the building safely but also found more people who felt sick, and carbon monoxide was detected. According to the news report, CO levels reached 800 parts-per-million, which the fire chief called a “significant danger to life and health.”

In a statement sent to Food Processing today (Dec. 9), OSI said all 11 employees have been released from the hospital, and also added it was continuing to assess and investigate the situation. Approximately 70 employees were working at the facility at the time of the incident, the company said.

The initial news report said the exact cause of the leak had yet to be determined, but that the location had been narrowed down to the processing area.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.