Nestlé UK has been fined more than £600,000 after an employee was dragged into the production machine for one of its most popular chocolates.
A court heard how the technical operator placed his right hand close to a gap in the After Eight machine on February 13, 2016, at the firm’s factory in Halifax, west Yorkshire.
The man was holding an emery cloth in his right hand which was then dragged into the machine – taking his arm with it, the Halifax Courier reported.
The trapped worker was unable to reach any of the unit’s emergency stop buttons, Bradford Crown Court was told at a hearing on Wednesday.
Eventually, paramedics managed to release him. He suffered a double compound fracture to his arm that required surgery, according to the local paper.
The British branch of the world’s largest food and drink company was found to have breached health and safety regulations over the incident.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to prevent access to dangerous moving parts of the machine, The Telegraph and Argus reported.
Nestlé UK Ltd, of City Place, Gatwick, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
The food manufacturer was fined £640,000 and ordered to pay £26,234 in costs.
