Food manufacturer fined £120,000 after exposing workers to toxic dust

A food manufacturer has been fined £120,000 after exposing workers to toxic dust.

Puratos Limited, a food manufacturer, was handed the fine last Friday after admitting to putting its workforce at serious risk from hazardous dust and unsafe lifting practices.

The company, based at Buckingham Industrial Park, entered a guilty plea at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court on July 17 to a charge under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

It was also ordered to pay £6,270 in costs.

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The Health and Safety Executive brought the prosecution after finding that employees at the Buckingham factory faced dangerous levels of inhalable dust capable of causing occupational asthma.

An HSE inspection on December 3 2024 uncovered a range of dangerous working practices at the site.

Investigators observed dust leaking from machinery, staff using compressed airlines to disperse dust deposits, and employees sweeping up with brushes and brooms rather than using safer methods.

A subsequent dust monitoring assessment carried out on December 18 2024 confirmed that inhalable dust concentrations in the workplace surpassed the exposure limits established by the HSE.

The readings demonstrated that workers were breathing in harmful levels of dust during their shifts.

This placed them at significant risk of developing respiratory conditions, including occupational asthma.

The prosecution was not the first time the company had come to the attention of regulators.

HSE inspectors had previously visited the site in 2021.

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They had taken enforcement action over the very same concerns - dust exposure and manual handling hazards linked to its food manufacturing operations.

Investigators also discovered that staff were routinely required to lift 25kg sacks of ingredients by hand every day, a practice that carries a significant risk of musculoskeletal injuries and should be eliminated wherever reasonably practicable.

The case forms part of a broader HSE programme of inspections targeting large bakeries across Great Britain, launched in January 2026, to ensure employers are adequately shielding workers from hazardous dusty ingredients such as flour.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Emma Page said: "Too many workers in bakeries are suffering from unnecessary exposure to dusty ingredients, including flour.

She added: "When employers prevent exposure, the risk of occupational asthma is removed."

Ms Page also highlighted the scale of injury caused by poor lifting practices across the sector.

She said: "In the food and drink industries, around one-third of reportable injuries are acute injuries caused by handling and lifting.

"Employers must ensure they are properly protecting workers from the dangers of dusty ingredients and the manual handling of heavy materials."

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