Melbourne noodle restaurant Bowltiful fined $40,000 after worker’s hand degloved in dough mixer

A Melbourne noodle restaurant has been fined $40,000 after a worker’s hand was “degloved” in a dough mixer machine.

The accident happened at a Bowltiful in May 2023 when a 31-year-old employee was mixing ingredients.

While using the machine, his right hand was struck by a blade pulled into the mixer causing “degloving of the skin”, WorkSafe said.

Inspectors from the work safety watchdog visited the restaurant and found the dough mixer was not fitted with an interlock guard, which meant the machine was allowed to continue operating while its lid was open.

WorkSafe said this exposed “employees to the rotating paddles”.

WorkSafe prohibited the restaurant from using the machine until the issue was fixed, however it was still in use when inspectors attended the workplace a month later.

“It was reasonably practicable for the company to have installed an interlocked physical guarding mechanism that only allowed access to the danger area at times when there was no risk and prevented access at any other time,” WorkSafe said.

MMPX Pty Ltd, which trades as Bowltiful, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday, September 13 after pleading guilty to two charges.

The company was fined $40,000 without conviction and also ordered to pay $5671 in costs.

WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said the incident was entirely preventable and could have been much worse.

“There is no excuse for businesses who fail to keep their workers safe, particularly when they are already well aware of the risks from particular machinery and equipment in their workplace,” he said.

Bowltiful has three locations in Melbourne’s CBD.