Food manufacturing unit employee strangled unconscious on a carrot baton machine

A meals manufacturing unit employee was strangled unconscious on a carrot baton machine when his hood jacket obtained tangled within the curler. 

Remigiusz Cyrek, 37, was injured after being dragged into the machine and trapped by an enormous curler whereas he was finishing up a deep clear on the specialist equipment.

The Fife-based vegetable producer faces a substantial superb after it admitted duty for the accident which left Mr Cyrek unable to work for six months.

Kettle Produce – which has a £150million turnover – admitted failing to make sure the well being, security and welfare of workers at its Orkie Farm manufacturing centre close to freuchie between 21 August 2017 and 22 June 2018.

Fiscal depute Gail Adair advised Dundee Sheriff Court that the conveyor belt and rollers ought to have been remoted and utterly switched off earlier than the weekly clear.

Kettle Produce – which has a £150million turnover – admitted failing to make sure the well being, security and welfare of workers at its Orkie Farm (pictured) manufacturing centre close to freuchie between August 21, 2017, and June 22, 2018

She mentioned: ‘Mr Cyrek is a Polish nationwide who has been residing within the UK since 2011. He has been employed as a hygiene operative with the corporate since 21 August 2017.

‘He was enterprise the weekly clear of the carrot baton line. He started stress washing the road. It was working on the time and the pushed curler was turning.

‘This was a rotating energy curler. The hood of his waterproof jacket obtained caught within the curler, inflicting it to tighten spherical his neck and result in a lack of consciousness.

‘The different hygiene operative discovered him unconscious below the conveyor, with the hood of his jacket tangled within the curler. Others turned conscious of that operative screaming at them.

‘They ran to the central cabin and switched off the road. They freed him by manually feeding the curler to free his clothes.’

The prosecutor advised the court docket that Mr Cyrek was handled by paramedics and brought to hospital with extreme swelling and bruising to his neck. He suffered a lack of feeling in his fingertips.

‘He was off work for six months after which returned to mild duties. He continued to have ache in his hand. The accused had didn’t have a protected system of labor.’

Counsel for the corporate, Barry Smith, mentioned: ‘All of these at Kettle Produce very sincerely remorse this accident occurred, and induced harm to Mr Cyrek, who was a valued worker.’

Fiscal depute Gail Adair advised Dundee Sheriff Court (pictured) that the conveyor belt and rollers ought to have been remoted and utterly switched off earlier than the weekly clear

He mentioned the corporate, which was based in 1976 and has 1,100 workers, was a market chief within the ready vegetable sector and was a ‘massive firm’ by way of turnover.

‘It is accepted there was a failure to make sure a protected system of labor was correctly applied. There was a system, and had it been adopted correctly, it might have ensured security.

‘Clear instruction was not universally understood and adopted. It is accepted the corporate fell wanting the required normal.’

He urged the court docket to take Covid-affected losses of over £4 million during the last two monetary years under consideration when deciding the dimensions of the superb to impose.

Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown deferred sentence for consideration of the extent of superb to impose and mentioned: ‘I believe the injured individual on this case has been very lucky.’