McCain Foods fined £700k as worker loses two fingers in horror factory accident

24 November 2023 , 14:35

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McCain Foods Limited is the world's largest producer of potato chips and has headquarters in both the UK and Canada (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

McCain Foods has been slapped with a £700,000 fine after an employee needed to have two fingers amputated following a horror accident at one of its five UK factories.

Tom Matthews, a 33 year-old father-of-two, was cleaning batter machinery at one of the frozen food manufacturer's factory in Easton, Lincolnshire, when his left hand was pulled into a rotary valve while working a night shift on 2 September 2019. McCain Foods, which employs more than 21,000 employees across the world, was fined £700,000 at Lincoln Magistrates' Court on Wednesday after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.

Tom Matthews needed to have part of his left index and middle fingers amputated (PA)

HSE enforcement lawyer Jonathan Bamro led the prosecution. HSE's investigation into McCain Foods found the company had failed to install appropriate guarding on the rotary valve or conduct an adequate risk assessment of the batter machine.

It was found it had also failed to provide employees with sufficient health and safety training and supervision. In addition to the £700,000 fine, the company was forced to pay £6,508.51 in court costs and a victim surcharge of £170.

HSE inspector Muir Finlay commented: “This incident could so easily have been avoided had the company taken simple steps to guard dangerous parts of machinery and provide employees with suitable training and supervision. Companies and individuals should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

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Since the accident, Mr Matthews has become a health and safety champion in his current job at a different company. He revealed: "The last four years have been hard and an ongoing struggle both physically and mentally.

"I still have circulation problems in my left hand following the incident that should never have happened. While I'm currently working, my new role is with the health and safety team at a different company as I want to use my story as an example to others and make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

According to McCain's UK website, safety is the company's "top priority". A statement added: "Here at McCain, we firmly believe that nothing is ever worth getting hurt for and that every one of us should be able to go home to their friends and families at the end of their working day."

A McCain spokesperson told the Mirror: "At McCain, we take the health and safety of our colleagues extremely seriously and have co-operated fully throughout all stages of this case. Since the incident in 2019, we have further enhanced our machinery safety measures, and across our six UK sites we have had zero employee safety incidents over the past 12 months. We sincerely regret this incident and extend our apologies to Tom Matthews and his family."

Mizy Judah Clifton