Bumble Bee Seafood: Plant Worker Cooked to Death

Oct 15, 2012

A Tragic Death at California Seafood Plant

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,".

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.