Kerry Ingredients (UK) Limited received the fine following an incident at its factory in Hillington on 4 August 2021.
The 39-year-old man was working on a mixer at the site, where dry seasoning blends and mixes are manufactured for the food industry.
During the mixing process the machine began to develop a blockage, which the worker attempted to clear by inserting his right hand into the machine. However, as he did so, it came into contact with the rotating blades which resulted in the amputation of four of his fingers. Since the incident, the man has had to re-learn how to do everything with his left hand.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) established that there were no fixed guards preventing access to the blades from the underside. It also found there were not any interlocked guards which would stop the rotating parts if any component on the underside of the mixer were to be removed.
Kerry Ingredients (UK) Limited of Bradley Road, Bristol pleaded guilty on 26 July 2024 to a contravention of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1988, Regulations 11(1) and (2) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act
1974, Section 33(1)(c). At a further hearing on 8 August 2024, the company was fined £360,000.
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