Pinguin Food Ltd, a vegetable processor has been fined for safety breaches after a worker’s finger was amputated when his hand was crushed at its plant in Boston, England. The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined ₤10,000 and ordered to pay ₤3,500 costs by Boston Magistrates Court. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive in February 2009 revealed that a number of employees had been given interlock parts to an automated palletising machine which effectively overrode the safety guard system. The Health and Safety Executive criticised the firm and said that employees were routinely entering the enclosure while the machinery was running. The incident was caused by the employee overriding the guard to gain access to straighten some boxes, during which his fingers were caught between a pallet and the conveyor, resulting in his middle finger being amputated from the tip to the first knuckle.