On September 2, 2019, an employee named Tom Matthews was cleaning the batter system machinery during a night shift at McCain Foods’ site in Lincolnshire. While attempting to remove a piece of string dangling from a chute, his left hand was drawn into the machine’s rotary valve. As a result, he lost two fingers (index and middle) and has since suffered from ongoing physical and mental challenges.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that McCain Foods had failed to provide appropriate guarding to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery. Additionally, the company had not conducted an adequate risk assessment of the batter machine, and staff had not been provided with sufficient training or supervision.
McCain Foods pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations and was fined £700,000, along with an order to pay £6,508 in prosecution costs. The company has since made improvements to its machinery safety measures and reported zero employee safety incidents across its six UK sites over the past 12 months.
On November 22, 2023, McCain Foods (G.B.) Limited was fined £700,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety […]
McCain Foods Fined £700,000 for Health and Safety Breach Read Post »
