Fruit company enters $340,000 undertaking after conveyor injury

The Mildura Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday 27 October that MFCT Pty Ltd, trading as Mildura Fruit Company, had entered the undertaking while facing two charges of failing to ensure a workplace under its control was safe and without risks to health. WorkSafe may reinstate the charges if the undertaking is breached.

The injury occurred in July 2023 while a worker was cleaning on and around operating machinery at the company’s Mildura factory. His work included sweeping up fruit that had fallen from nearby conveyors.

After spotting fruit trapped between a conveyor belt and a bar running across it, the worker tried to free it with a squeegee, then with his gloved left hand. His glove became caught between the moving belt and the bar, injuring his middle and pointer fingers.

WorkSafe alleged the company had failed to provide engineering controls to prevent access to moving plant. It also alleged the company had failed to develop and implement a lock-out tag-out procedure to stop the plant operating during cleaning.

WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said employers were responsible for protecting workers from machinery risks, including those involving conveyor belts and forklifts.

“Training is always vital to a safe workplace where plant is used, but it is also necessary to eliminate risk by reducing the number of workers in close proximity to these machines while they’re in operation,” he said. Jenkin also welcomed the company’s safety changes since the incident and its commitment to upgrades and resources to improve safety at its workplace and across the industry.

How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your business’s approach to workplace health and safety and identify areas that need closer attention. Take the free WHS self-check