Hastings: Homegrown Juice Company factory death under WorkSafe investigation

The Homegrown Juice Company on Williams St, Mahora, Hastings.

One person has died after a workplace incident at the factory property of a Hawke’s Bay juice company.

Police were called to a sudden death at The Homegrown Juice Company on Williams St in Mahora, Hastings, about 8.40am on Friday.

The death has been referred to the coroner.

In a statement, The Homegrown Juice Company said there was a “tragic incident” on their site that was being investigated by WorkSafe, who they are “fully co-operating with”.

“Due to this current investigation, we cannot comment on the events.

“Our commitment at this time is to fully support the family and employees through this incredibly difficult time.

“The company will release a formal statement once all investigations have been completed.”

WorkSafe New Zealand said it had been notified and was investigating.

This death is the third workplace fatality in Hawke’s Bay for 2025, according to WorkSafe’s fatalities summary table.

It is also the second death at the Mahora facility in the past 10 years.

In June 2017, 23-year-old Manpreet Kaur of Hastings died while cleaning a bottle-filling machine when her arm was drawn into the rotating equipment.

It continued to rotate, and she died at the scene.

A WorkSafe investigation found that the machine was not interlocked, which would have stopped it from starting while the guarding was open.

The machine had been imported from China and had not been assessed by an engineer in NZ, was not certified and did not comply with NZ standards.

The Homegrown Juice Co Limited was sentenced and fined $367,500 in Hastings District Court in August 2019.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and NZ.