Worker was clearing blockage in a sugar silo
Chudleigh's Ltd. – an industrial food processing company in Milton, Ontario that makes apple-based products – has been fined $50,000 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was critically injured clearing a blockage at the base of a sugar silo, the Ontario government announced.
According to the Ontario government, the incident took place on Jan. 23, 2024, at the company's facility at 8501 Chudleigh Way in Milton. The worker was attempting to clear a blockage in a sugar silo located in the facility's ingredients room.
The worker reached into a valve attached to the base of the silo and manually dislodged sugar chunks that were causing the blockage, the Ontario government said.
As the blockage cleared, the equipment moved unexpectedly, critically injuring the worker.
Chudleigh's Ltd. is an industrial food processing company that specializes in apple-based products, operating out of the Milton facility where the incident occurred.
The investigation and charge
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigated the incident and found that the company had failed to acquaint the worker with the hazards of accessing the valve at the base of the silo, the Ontario government said.
By failing to acquaint the worker with this workplace hazard, Chudleigh's Ltd. was found to have contravened section 25(2)(d) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, according to the Ontario government.
Section 25(2)(d) requires employers to advise a worker of any hazard connected with the equipment, materials or process the worker is required to use or work with.
The section falls under the general duties of employers set out in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the province's primary workplace health and safety legislation covering Ontario workplaces.
The court outcome
Chudleigh's Ltd. pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Burlington and was fined $50,000 by Justice of the Peace Trevor J. Howard on May 29, 2026, the Ontario government reported. Crown Counsel Alexsis Qi prosecuted the case.
The court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required under the Provincial Offences Act.
That surcharge, per the Ontario government, is credited to a special provincial fund that assists victims of crime.
The conviction was registered more than two years after the January 2024 incident, following the ministry's investigation and the subsequent court proceedings in Burlington.
