Food business fined after two accident injury complaints

A major European food business has been fined a total of £230,000 following two incidents at its Suffolk factory.

Shaun Alexander was left without four fingers, a thumb and half a palm after an accident at 2 Sisters Food Group, while Malcolm Raven had his arm broken because of the failure of the company to fit a by-pass devise to machinery.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Julie Jarvey called both incidents "wholly avoidable", and the result of a "lack of proper training, inadequate assessment of risks, absence of working practice and effective measures stopping access to dangerous equipment".

2 Sisters Food Group supplies poultry, fish, chilled, bakery and frozen goods to the retail, food service and food manufacturing sectors.

The company has 32 manufacturing sites in the UK, six in Holland and one in Poland, employing a total of 16,000 people.

The company was fined £90,000 for the offence involving Shaun Alexander and £140,000 for the incident involving Malcolm Raven.

Published by Jessica Shervin