McCain Foods: Oven chips firm fined £700,000 after employee loses two fingers at work

Frozen potato firm McCain Foods has been fined £700,000 after an employee lost two fingers following an accident at one of its factories. Tom Matthews was cleaning a batter system machine when his hand was drawn into a rotary valve at the firm’s factory in Easton, Lincolnshire, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.

Matthews, then had to have part of his left index and middle finger amputated after the incident on September 2, 2019. On Wednesday (November 22), McCain Foods was fined £700,000 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to contravening two health and safety regulations, after being prosecuted by the HSE.

The father-of-two now works for a different company and has advocated for health and safety in his current job, warning others to avoid his misfortune. He said the incident has left him with circulation problems in his left hand.

He said: “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.”

The HSE's investigation revealed that McCain Foods had neglected to implement proper guarding to prevent access to the rotary valve and had not conducted a sufficient risk assessment of the batter machine. Additionally, the company was found to have provided inadequate health and safety training and supervision for its employees.

In response to the prosecution, McCain Foods, headquartered in Canada with a UK base in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was also ordered to pay £6,508.51 in costs and a victim surcharge of £170.

HSE inspector Muir Finlay said the incident could have been prevented through basic safety measures and warned that enforcement action would be taken against those falling below required standards.