This comes after the Homegrown Juice Co Limited was sentenced and fined $367,500 in Hastings District Court today after a worker was fatally injured in June 2017. The worker was cleaning a bottle filling machine when her arm was drawn into the rotating equipment. It continued to rotate and the worker died at the scene.

A WorkSafe investigation found the machine was not interlocked. An interlock would have prevented it from starting while guarding was open.

The WorkSafe investigation found the machine had been imported from China and had not been assessed by a New Zealand engineer. The machine was not certified or compliant with New Zealand standards.

WorkSafe Chief Inspector Hayden Mander said interlocks are a vital protection for workers.

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