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Bumble Bee Seafood: Plant Worker Cooked to Death

A Tragic Death at California Seafood Plant

By , Farms.com

Santa Fe Springs, California – A 62 year-old employee at Bumble Bee Foods Seafood was found dead on Thursday morning in what appears to be a tragic accident. According to spokeswoman Erika Monterroza of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Jose Malena “was fatally injured when he was cooked in an oven,".

Malena, 62, was found dead inside an industrial cooking device known as a “steamer machine” when police and fire personnel responded to a 911 call from the facility. There are no confirmed reports indicating how the fatal incident occurred or whether there were any workplace safety regulatory violations. Operations at the Santa Fe Springs plant are suspended until Monday while investigation into the incident continues.

Bumble Bee Foods spokesman Pat Menke released the following statement to KTLA.com following the tragedy "The entire Bumble Bee Foods family is saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Malena family,".


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Spring Planting Prep Just Got Serious… We NEED This!

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Getting closer to planting season means one thing… it’s time to get EVERYTHING ready.

Today didn’t go exactly as planned—we thought we’d be hauling potatoes again, but instead we spent the day digging equipment out of the cellar, hooking up the grain drill, and getting tractors ready to roll. With wheat planting just around the corner, every piece of equipment matters.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a normal day without a few problems… dead batteries, hydraulic issues, and a truck tire that absolutely refused to cooperate. We tried everything—jump packs, bead bazooka, ratchet straps… and eventually had to bring out the “big guns” just to get things moving again.

But that’s farm life—adapt, fix, and keep moving forward.

We’re getting close to go-time. Wheat seed is coming soon, and planting season is right around the corner