Cooking Vessel Failure Caused Fatal Blast at Givaudan Color Plant in Louisville

Dec. 5, 2024

Two employees died in the Nov. 14 explosion, 12 others were hospitalized; the plant formerly belonged to color-maker D.D. Williamson & Co.

Dave Fusaro

Investigators are saying the failure of a cooking vessel was the cause of a fatal explosion last month at the Louisville, Ky., plant of Givaudan Sense Colour. The plant formerly housed color-maker D.D. Williamson & Co.

Two employees died in the Nov. 14 explosion, 12 others were hospitalized and neighbors in a one-mile radius – many of whose windows were blown out by the blast – were ordered to shelter-in-place until city officials could confirm there were no hazardous materials released into the air. One report said the blast was felt four miles away in Jeffersonville, Ind., just the other side of the Ohio River.

The Louisville Courier-Journal quoted an agent with the Louisville Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as saying the cause was the failure of a cooking vessel.

The same plant, under D.D. Williamson ownership, had an explosion in 2003 when one worker died, also from a vessel explosion, which also created an ammonia leak. Givaudan, based in Switzerland, makes food flavors and fragrances for cosmetics and bought D.D. Williamson in 2021.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.