City restaurant prosecuted for allergy risk

A restaurant in Derby has been prosecuted by Derby City Council Trading Standards after a customer with a peanut allergy suffered a severe reaction after eating a takeaway.

The customer had advised staff of their allergy at Masala in Curzon Street, Derby, when they ordered their meal by telephone in July last year. After eating the food they had to use their emergency EpiPen, and be taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment.

Today at Derby Magistrates Court, New Masala Derby Ltd, trading as Masala, of Curzon Street, Derby pleaded guilty to supplying food which was unsafe because it contained an allergen, contrary to the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013. Director Mr Abdul Shahid also pleaded guilty to the same offence.

The company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs. Mr Shahid, as the Director, was fined £320 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and a victim surcharge of £34.

After receiving a complaint from the customer, a Trading Standards officer ordered the same meal from the restaurant, requesting that it should be made without peanuts. When the meal arrived, the restaurant was made aware that they were from Trading Standards and samples were taken from the food. When the samples were analysed, peanuts were found.

After the hearing Councillor Jonathan Smale, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Place and Community Development, said:

“Food allergies can have potentially fatal consequences for consumers. It is therefore vitally important that food businesses have robust systems in place to ensure that they know what is in the food they serve.

This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to protecting consumers when those systems have clearly failed.”