Temporary Factory Worker Experiences ‘Death by Chocolate’

July 20, 2009

On Wednesday July 8, police were called to a New Jersey chocolate processing plant. A temporary factory worker, Vincent Smith II, fell into a large vat of melting chocolate and died. The most incredible aspect of the bizarre accident, however, was that a similar death occurred with another young temporary worker in 2002.

Smith was loading chunks of raw chocolate into the vat for melting when he slipped and fell from a platform into the vat. He was killed when the vat’s agitator struck him in the head. He remained in the melting pot, which was at a temperature of 120 degrees for about 10 minutes- until the police and medical crews could arrive.

According to several sources, the factory was operating without proper permits and was not considered to be a safe workplace. The FDA is now monitoring the factory to insure that none of the chocolate, which encountered the victim’s body is shipped out. There is likely to be a criminal investigation into the operation of the factory.