Last week's fatal blast at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory highlighted the combustibility of food plants in general and chocolate making in particular.
The powerful explosion at 75-year-old R.M. Palmer Co. — which makes chocolate eggs, bunnies, bars, coins and other treats — killed seven, sent 10 to the hospital and damaged several other buildings in West Reading, a small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, where it has long had a factory.
