Workplace injury results in $50,000 fine for Toronto industrial bakery

Toronto – Industrial bakery Niche Bakers Corp. has been fined $50,000 after a worker was seriously injured while cleaning out an industrial dough mixer.

A worker was seriously injured on March 22, 2021, while cleaning an industrial dough mixer. Contrary to safety procedures, the machine’s control switch was not locked out to prevent it from being activated, the ministry said. As a result, the worker was injured by the moving blades.

Niche Bakers Corp. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the machine’s control switch was locked out to prevent it from being activated as prescribed by section 76(a) of Regulation 851, and contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the ministry said.

On March 22, 2021, two workers were cleaning an industrial dough mixer, also known as a “dough chunker.” The dough chunker was inside a gated and fenced zone, with the entrance controlled by safety gates/swing-out doors which, when in the opened position, would prevent the dough chunker from starting, the ministry said. When workers were inside the gated zone the power was required to be off and the safety gates left open.

One worker was inside the gated zone to clean the dough chunker. A second worker was at the control panel outside the zone and, contrary to safety procedures, closed the safety gates and reset the system to cycle. When asked by the first worker, the second worker turned on the dough chunker momentarily to rotate the uncleaned portions of machine parts into position for the first worker to clean. As a result, the first worker was seriously injured by the rotating blades.