Scarborough-based McCain Foods (GB) Limited was fined a total of £800,000 after admitting it breached both the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.
The frozen food manufacturer was also ordered to pay costs of £12,831.51.
The court heard an investigation into the accident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had established that the machine did not have the correct guards fitted while a risk assessment carried out by the firm had failed to recognise the danger that posed.