A food producer faces a hefty fine after admitting that one of its workers was strangled by a carrot baton machine because of its safety failing.
The worker, Remigiusz Cyrek, was choked unconscious after he was dragged into the machine by the hood of his jacket and trapped there by a giant roller.
Kettle Produce, which runs a facility at Orkie Farm near Freuchie in Fife, admitted in court on Wednesday it had failed to ensure its staff were safe there between August 2017 and June 2018.
Cyrek, a Polish national, was a hygiene worker with the company and was unable to work for six months after the incident.
Gail Adair, a fiscal depute, told Dundee sheriff court the machine’s conveyor belt and rollers should have been completely switched off before Cyrek began to clean it, BBC Scotland reports.
“This was a rotating power roller. The hood of his waterproof jacket got caught in the roller, causing it to tighten round his neck and lead to a loss of consciousness,” she told the court.
“The other hygiene operative found him unconscious under the conveyor, with the hood of his jacket tangled in the roller. Others became aware of that operative screaming at them.
“They ran to the central cabin and switched off the line. They freed him by manually feeding the roller to free his clothing.”
Barry Smith, a lawyer for the company, said that Cyrek was a valued employee and that Kettle Produce “very sincerely regret this accident occurred”. He told the court: “There was a system, and had it been followed properly, it would have ensured safety.
“Clear instruction was not universally understood and followed. It is accepted the company fell short of the required standard.”
Smith asked Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown to take into consideration that the company had suffered Covid-affected losses of more than £4m over the past two financial years when deciding what size of fine to impose.
The sheriff deferred sentence while she considered the scale of the fine. “I think the injured person in this case has been very fortunate,” she said.
