Puratos Fined £126,000 After HSE Finds Dust and Manual Handling Risks
Published on 07/20/2026 at 16:48 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A Buckinghamshire food manufacturer has been ordered to pay more than £126,000 after a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection revealed workers were exposed to dangerous levels of dust and required to lift heavy sacks without adequate protection.
Puratos Limited appeared before Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court on July 17, 2026, where it was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £6,270 in costs. The case serves as a reminder to food sector employers that failure to control respiratory and manual handling risks can lead to significant financial penalties and, more importantly, long-term harm to workers.
The £120,000 fine faced by Puratos demonstrates how costly compliance gaps can be. A free Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 Toolkit provides 9 ready-to-use resources, including risk assessments and a director's liability guide, to help ensure your business meets its legal obligations. Download the free Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 Toolkit
Dust Levels Exceeded Legal Limits
The prosecution followed a December 2024 inspection of the company's facilities. HSE investigators found that dust levels inside the plant exceeded legal exposure limits, creating a substantial risk of occupational asthma for employees.
Alongside the respiratory hazards, inspectors identified serious manual handling concerns. Workers were required to lift 25kg sacks on a daily basis without adequate safeguards or risk mitigation measures in place.
Puratos pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which places a duty on employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees.
HSE inspector Emma Page emphasised that controlling exposure to flour dust and managing the physical demands of manual handling are essential to preventing long-term health issues. The HSE noted that the company had been subject to previous enforcement action as recently as 2021.
Wider Enforcement Across the Food Sector
The penalty against Puratos is part of a broader pattern of enforcement in the food and manufacturing industries. Earlier in July, Food Process Engineering Ltd was fined £50,000 following the death of a 32-year-old worker, Steven Tervit, who fell four metres when wall panels collapsed during the dismantling of a cleanroom in Renfrew. The HSE concluded the company had failed to conduct a proper risk assessment for the third-party structure.
In a separate case, Portsmouth authorities obtained a court order on July 16 to keep a local food business closed after discovering a mouse infestation and poor hygiene standards.
Global Industrial Incidents
Recent days have also seen a series of serious industrial accidents internationally. On July 18, contract worker G Dharanitharan died at a private fertiliser plant in Ennore, India, after a conveyor belt malfunctioned. That incident followed a boiler explosion at a nearby site earlier in the week.
These tragic incidents highlight the need for thorough risk assessments in every workplace. The free Risk Assessment Toolkit gives you 41 templates and checklists covering fire safety, manual handling, lone working and more — all ready to be adapted to your site. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit
In Bangladesh, worker Sujit Sarkar died in an explosion at a battery factory on the same day. The facility had been fined by environmental regulators just one week earlier for operating without necessary clearances. These events come after a major ammonia leak in Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, on June 21, which killed 18 workers and hospitalised 80 others.
Technology as a Safety Solution
While some firms face penalties, others are turning to technology to reduce risks. South Korean food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang recently introduced safety-focused colour design at its Busan plant to improve visibility for workers and forklift operators. Meanwhile, a growing number of manufacturers are adopting autonomous cleaning robots equipped with AI and cameras to maintain hygiene standards and provide digital records for safety audits.
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