Feds probe chocolate plant where man died

MOORESTOWN, Pa., July 10 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration is checking a Pennsylvania factory following the death of a worker who fell into a vat of boiling chocolate.

FDA Spokeswoman Joan G. Lytle says the government wants to make sure Lyons & Sons doesn't ship any of the chocolate that came in contact with the victim, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday.

Vincent Smith II, 29, of Camden, died Wednesday morning when he fell from a 9-foot platform into a 120-degree tank that was mixing cocoa extract into Hershey's chocolate.

Officials say once he fell into the vat, Smith was hit with a mechanical paddle and attempts to rescue him were unsuccessful.

The Camden County prosecutor's office says it believes Smith's death was accidental but an investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is continuing.

Questions have been raised about whether the Lyons plant in Moorestown had been operating with proper licensing and documentation.