Frozen food brand McCain has been fined £700,000 after a factory worker lost two fingers in an ‘easily avoided’ incident at its site in Lincolnshire.

McCain Foods Ltd, which is best known for its frozen oven chips, admitted to breaching a health and safety regulation at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court this week, BBC reported.

Its employee, Tom Matthews, was left with permanent injuries following his hand being drawn into the chute of a batter machine he was cleaning at the Lincolnshire factory.

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The court found that Mathews, who was attempting to remove a piece of string on the chute during his night shift, found his hand coming into contact with the machine’s rotary valve.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that McCain’s staff had not had sufficient training or supervision, and there was no appropriate guard on the machine, or an adequate risk assessment carried out.

HSE inspector Muir Finlay said the incident “could so easily have been avoided had the company taken simple steps to guard dangerous parts of machinery and provide employees with suitable training and supervision”.

The frozen food brand pleaded guilty to two offences of contravening a health and safety regulation and was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170 and costs of £6,508.51.