GRUMA CORPORATION

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, GRUMA CORPORATION — a other snack food manufacturing facility located at 2110 SANTA FE DRIVE, PUEBLO, CO 81006 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 22 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $32,555.00. The inspection case was opened on 2019-06-18.

The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $32,555.00 is more than 3.8× the national average of $8,527.19 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 311919). This sector encompasses 24,420 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $208.2M.

State Context: Within CO, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 32,935 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,271.13.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 22 citations spanning 10 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 5 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 10 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning April 25, 2014 with the latest abatement deadline set for January 2, 2020. Of the 22 total citations, 0 (0%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $32,555.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $1,479.77 falls within the standard penalty range.

The 2019 inspection of Gruma Corporation’s Pueblo facility revealed a pervasive breakdown in fundamental safety controls, characterized by 22 citations that spanned mechanical, electrical, and administrative domains. The most critical findings centered on 1910.219 (Mechanical Power-Transmission Apparatus) and 1910.305 (Wiring Methods), both of which carried high-gravity penalties. These violations indicated a failure to protect employees from high-energy hazards, specifically rotating parts and energized electrical components. The presence of significant guarding deficiencies alongside ungrounded or damaged wiring suggests a facility where physical interventions for hazard abatement were either bypassed or poorly maintained, placing workers at immediate risk of amputation or electrocution. The penalty structure, totaling over $32,000, reflects a severity level above the industry average for food manufacturing (NAICS 311919), particularly regarding the recurring $7,000 maximum-tier assessments for machine guarding and electrical safety. Furthermore, the breadth of the citations—ranging from respiratory protection (1910.134) and personal protective equipment (1910.133) to Hazard Communication (1910.1200) and material storage (1910.176)—points toward a systemic failure in the facility’s Safety and Health Management System (SHMS). Rather than isolated mechanical failures, the record depicts a lack of oversight in training, documentation, and routine hazard identification, signifying that the site lacked a proactive safety culture capable of sustaining compliance across multiple regulatory verticals.