Legal News
Salad producer fined after employee loses fingertips in packing machine (10 February 2016)
Date: 10/02/2016
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a food company, after a worker lost the tips of two figures in a bagging machine.
The HSE investigated Hampshire-based Vitacress Salads Limited – which grows and packs salads – following the incident on 21 April 2015, in which the operator of the bagging machine had reached under the guard to pull film through the machine.
The heat sealing and cutting jaws of the machine closed on his fingers and amputated the tips of his left middle and ring fingers.
HSE investigators found that the bagging machine had a hole cut in the interlocked guards to allow larger bags of salad out of the machine on a conveyor. However, this also meant that access to the heat sealing and cutting jaws was possible.
On Thursday 4 February at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, Vitacress Salads Limited of Lower Link St Mary Bourne, Andover in Hampshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,088.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Kate Clark said:
“Cutting a hole in the guards led to access to dangerous parts being possible.
“The company had not properly considered the risks from making this alteration.”
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