A world-famous food producer has been fined £6,000 after admitting to health and safety failings which left an employee without the full use of his hand.
Vegetable soup and pickled products giant Baxters found itself in court for serious safety failings after a worker was injured when his hand was caught between a conveyor belt and roller.
Kayode Ezekiel Ogundele, of Lossiemouth, was employed by Baxters Food Group at its Riverside Factory in Fochabers when the incident happened on 19 March 2013.
Mr Ogundele was working in the packing section of Baxters’ Fray Bentos line on March 19, 2013 after receiving “basic” instructions on his tasks.
Crown prosecutor Shona Nicholson said Mr Ogundele was injured when his hand was swallowed into the trap point between the moving conveyor belt and the stationary roller, known as the “nip”.
Unable to remove his hand or stop the conveyor, a passing forklift truck driver came to Ogundele’s assistance but he had suffered lacerations and open wounds to three fingers on his hand.
He was off work for a month, and still suffers pain in his hand and no longer has full movement.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that while Baxters’ had assessed some of the risks of the new line, it had failed to identify the need for further assessments once it had been fully installed.
Elgin Sheriff Court was told on 7 May that Ogundele had not been instructed on the specific machinery he was operating.
The court heard he suffered depression due to being unable to perform everyday tasks without help from his wife.
HSE Inspector Penny Falconer said the incident was an “entirely avoidable”.
She said: “The dangers of nip points are well-known in the industry. Baxters should have carried out a full assessment of the risks to workers of the new production line.”
A Baxters spokeswoman said: “We cooperated fully with HSE’s investigation into the incident and subsequent recommendations and accept the decision that has been made in regards to this case.”