Derbyshire food company prosecuted after worker severs fingertip

An Ilkeston food company has been fined after an employee severed the tip of his finger in a mincing machine. The man, who has asked not to be named, injured his left index finger as he tried to remove meat from a blade on the machine at Loscoe Chilled Foods Limited’s Grange Farm factory in Loscoe on 7 November 2011.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court was told today (8 May) the machine had been stopped and was slowing down when the employee went to collect a tub of mince from the end of the production line. He noticed some had got stuck in the outfeed so he removed the guard and reached in to remove the mince. However, his hand came into contact with the still-moving blade. He required emergency surgery at hospital and was off work for three weeks before later retiring.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that while the guard was not required to be fixed, it was only supposed to be removed by a trained operative with a specific method followed. The employee had not been trained to perform that task, so did not follow the correct procedure. The court heard the company had failed to implement a proper training system for the machine, despite a similar incident having occurred in the past and specific advice having been given by HSE.

Loscoe Chilled Foods Limited, of Wharncliffe Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, was fined a total of £16,000 and ordered to pay £16,192 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. After the hearing HSE inspector Emma Madeley said: "Loscoe Chilled Foods Limited had a duty to ensure its employees were protected from the dangerous moving parts of the mincing machine. The fact that a specific procedure had to be carried out to remove the guard shows the firm recognised the risk, yet it failed to ensure its employees were adequately trained and supervised. There was a lack of control which resulted in a man suffering a painful injury."