Food manufacturer fined over workplace injury
December 15th 17:39 Health and Safety
The importance of effective facilities management in the food production industry has been highlighted by the fining of one company for its failure to prevent an accident in the workplace.
Noon Products of Egham in Surrey was issued with a £20,000 penalty at the City of London Magistrates Court after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over an incident in which one of its employees had his fingertip severed.
The injury occurred in February 2007 when the tip of a worker's right index finger was severed while he was cleaning a machine, which the HSE later found was lacking in "crucial" safety devices and was in a poor state of repair.
Inspector at the body criticised Noon Products for failing to "protect its workers from harm".
"The company had a poor health and safety record at the time of the incident," he remarked, but the HSE added that the business has now improved its standards.
Elsewhere in the food industry, nationwide chain Eat was recently fined £1,000 at the City of London Magistrates Court after a worker was injured while working at height.
