Food processor cops $160,000 worth of fines within seven months

Forager Foods pleaded guilty to a count of failing to comply with Health and Safety duty Category 2 in 2018.

The fine is the second one this year after the company received a $40,000 fine in March for a similar type of offence also in 2018 subsequent to this case.

READ MORE: Premier hasn't asked if MPs are vaccinated, mandate unlikely

Magistrate Ken Stanton imposed the second fine on Thursday afternoon, after the company submitted that its capacity to pay should be taken into account.

Mr Stanton said the fine was less than 10 per cent of the maximum fine of $1.5million.

The court heard that the company's operating profit of $166,000 was affected by COVID-19 and revenue slashed by 50 per cent. Cash reserves were paying the way and the company had net assets of $950,000.

Mr Stanton said a worker Kelly Wilson had suffered a serious hand injury while cleaning an apple coring machine.

Mr Stanton said a jog switch which was on the machine at the time of manufacture would have prevented the accident, but it was removed from the machine before it occurred.

READ MORE: Destructive blaze caps of years of hardships for farm owners

The company had failed to do a risk assessment of operating without the jog switch.

Mr Stanton said the company knew of the risk and it could have been reduced at very little cost.

"Through its employee it knew of the risk and did not take steps to mitigate it," he said.

He said that the worker held no bitterness towards the company and had been offered an apology.

"There was clear potential for a much more serious injury, the fortunate outcome did not reduce culpability," he said.

Mr Stanton said that the fact that it was a subsequent offence meant that the previous offence had not resulted in a company-wide safety overhaul.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: