Bel Brands USA has one OSHA inspection on record in South Dakota.
OSHA opened it on Dec 18, 2017 on a referral, in Brookings.
From that inspection OSHA issued 1 citation item: 1 other-than-serious.
OSHA proposed $6,282 in penalties. After settlements and reviews the total is $6,000, down 4%.
For context, across all manufacturing employers the median penalty per cited inspection since 2015 is $4,873. Bel Brands USA averages $6,000 over 1 cited inspection in that time.
Bel Brands USA also files yearly injury logs with OSHA, summarized below.
It reported 2 severe injuries to OSHA since 2015.
Citation items per year, by inspection date.
South Dakota · latest 90 days of OSHA records
30employers cited
Get notified the morning OSHA posts each new citation in South Dakota: the employer, the site address, the rules broken and the penalty.
Incident on Dec 8, 2017: Employee's finger is amputated in tumbler auger
At 7:45 p.m. on December 8, 2017, Employee #1 was cleaning the brine river tumbler chute. His hand became pinched in the auger of the tumbler, and his right index fingertip was amputated.
From the Form 300A summaries employers file with OSHA each year. Rate = recordable cases per 100 full-time workers.
In 2025, the Brookings site logged 4 recordable injuries or illnesses among about 272 workers: 1.5 per 100 full-time workers, against a median of 4.2 for its industry. Those cases cost 360 days away from work.
Site and year
Workers
Cases
Days-away cases
Rate
Industry median
Bel Brands USA
Brookings · 2025
272
4
3
1.5
4.2
Bel Brands USA - Brookings
Brookings · 2016
285
19
5
6.5
4.2
Severe injury reports
Employers must report any work-related amputation, in-patient hospitalization or loss of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours. 2 reports on file.
Dec 8, 2017, Brookings: Amputation · amputations · fingertip(s)
An employee was attempting to manually clean a tumbler when the employee's right hand became caught in the tumbler, amputating the index fingertip. The tumbler was in operation at the time.
Aug 12, 2016, Brookings: Amputation · amputations · fingertip(s)
An employee slipped off a conveyor railing while leveling cheese and his hand entered the tumbler resulting in a partial amputation without bone loss to the right pinky fingertip.
The rules behind these citations
Current text from the Code of Federal Regulations. Some citations were issued under older wording.
(a) Machine guarding—(1) Types of guarding. One or more methods of machine guarding shall be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks. Examples of guarding methods are—barrier guards, two-hand tripping devices, electronic safety devices, etc.
Other cheese manufacturing employers in South Dakota
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA enforcement data. A citation is OSHA's allegation; employers can contest it, and the status column shows where each item stands. Something wrong on this page? Tell us.
