Company officials told WRAL News they are still investigating the incident, in which the employee's hand and arm became trapped in a mechanical seeder.

Company officials told WRAL News they are still investigating the incident, in which the employee’s hand and arm became trapped in a mechanical seeder; A seeder is a machine for adding dry spices and flavorings to jars as they pass by on the production line. Automatic Steel Pipe Pickling Equipment

“First and foremost, we are concerned for our employee, and our prayers are with her and her family in these days ahead,” said Bobby Frye, president and CEO. “We work hard to have a safe environment at Mt. Olive Pickle, and an accident like this is just devastating.

Wayne EMS, the Mount Olive Fire Department and Mt. Olive Pickle’s maintenance crew worked for about 40 minutes to extract the employee from the machine, according to officials.

The employee was airlifted to hospital, and her current condition remains unknown.

Mt. Olive notified the North Carolina Department of Labor, and it will cooperate fully with state officials in their investigation.

“We are evaluating what happened with this particular piece of equipment, and we will conduct additional inspections throughout our facility,” Frye said. “We will also continue to work with our employees to emphasize plant safety. This is a serious, disturbing accident. We will do everything within our power to ensure something like this does not happen again.”

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