Notorious food manufacturer Makmur Enterprises hit with huge fine over worker’s severed fingers

A family-owned food manufacturer with a shocking safety record has been hit with another huge fine — this time after one of its workers had their fingers severed by the blades of a mixing machine.

Makmur Enterprises Pty Ltd will have to pay $100,000 after pleading guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to failing to provide a safe working environment.

The company was also ordered to pay $21,739 in costs.

It’s the fifth time the company has been prosecuted by WorkSafe Victoria over incidents dating from 2013 in which workers were injured by inadequately guarded plants.

The previous four prosecutions resulted in a total of more than $264,000 in fines and costs.

In the latest incident in August 2021, a worker had to have emergency surgery to reattach his middle and index fingers.

WorkSafe Victoria said the worker was cleaning the large ribbon mixer and opened an interlocked gate to gain access to the discharge area when the disaster struck.

“The worker did not notice that the interlock failed and the machine continued to operate, however, so that when he reached his hand in to remove debris, his middle and index fingers made contact with the blades in the mixing chamber and were amputated,” its statement read.

An investigation found the interlock’s sensor became faulty after electrical components came into contact with water.

“An independent risk assessment of the mixer also found the interlock gate to the discharge area did not meet the required Australian Standard, which would have meant that even if the sensor had failed, the interlock would still have functioned to prevent access to the danger area.

“It was reasonably practicable for Makmur Enterprises to have interlock guarding that met Australian Standards so the mixer could not operate while a worker was accessing the discharge area.”

Sam Jenkin, WorkSafe executive director of health and safety, said repeatedly failing to protect workers from known health and safety risks would result in significant penalties.

“This shocking incident has had a significant impact on the injured worker, and no doubt also greatly affected the fellow workers who came to his aid,” Mr Jenkin said.

“At the very least, this company’s poor safety record should make it aware of the risks and potential consequences to workers when guarding is inadequate, so the fact that Makmur has continually failed to provide a safe workplace is incredibly disappointing.”