A judge has ordered a food manufacturing company to pay over £93,000 after a worker had his index finger severed.
The firm was fined for safety breaches after a hygiene operative suffered a serious injury when his hand came into contact with a mixer.
Troy Foods Salads Ltd of George Mann Way, Leeds, West Yorkshire, appeared before Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
It pleaded guilty to breaching Section 11 (1) Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
The court heard how on November 8th, 2019, the employee had his index finger severed after his left hand came into contact with a mixer whilst cleaning the door mechanism.
Food company in court
In a statement, the HSE said this was a result of a lack of necessary training, in which he should have been signed off before working alone.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Troy Foods (Salads)Ltd failed to adequately maintain guarding arrangements on a paddle mixer whilst also having deficiencies with training and supervision.
As a result, the judge ordered the company to pay £93,000 and a further £769 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Julian Franklin said:
“Better compliance, supervision and training are essential to reinforce safe systems of work.”
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply implementing the correct control measures and safe working practices,” Franklin concluded.
Farmer fined and sentenced after burying sheep in a heap of potatoes
Meanwhile, a judge has handed a suspended sentence and fines of over €7,000 to a sheep farmer after pleading guilty to 22 animal-related offences.
Stephen Redman, 65, of Newark Park Farm in the UK, appeared before Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on December 15th, 2021.
Gloucestershire County Council’s trading standards service brought the case which related to:
- Failing to apply ear tags to sheep;
- Not reporting animal movements and deaths;
- Failing to dispose of animal carcasses properly;
- Falsifying the birth records of 12 cattle.
Cheltenham Magistrates sentenced him to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.
Read this court case in full.
