Takeaway fined £20,000 for selling a 'nut free' meal that contained nuts

[dutchman]

Trading Standards say the amount found could have led to someone dying



A Coventry takeaway has been fined £20,000 after a meal advertised as ‘nut free’ was found to contain nuts.

Coventry City Council’s Trading Standards team said that the amount of peanuts found in the meal could have potentially led to the death of someone with a peanut allergy.

The council also stated that selling food that is mis-described or unsafe is a criminal offence.

In a hearing at Coventry Magistrates' Court this week, the company that runs Wok Express, Station Wall Limited, admitted the charge and was fined £20,000.

It was ordered to pay costs of £1,081.17 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Mrs Ronglan You, 42, a director of the company, was given no separate penalty. Her husband, Shu Yong Huang, aged 47, who is the Food Business Operator, was fined £384 and ordered to pay £1,726 costs and a £38 victim surcharge due to the kitchen being found to be dirty.

Wok Express is on Station Street West, Foleshill.

In November 2018, as part of a routine sampling survey, Coventry Trading Standards officers called the takeaway for a ‘nut free’ Mongolian Crispy Lamb meal.

When the meal was collected, Mrs You confirmed the meal was ‘nut free’.

But tests revealed that the meal contained 14 times more peanut protein than the threshold needed to cause a reaction in the most sensitive one per cent of peanut allergy sufferers.

A visit by Environmental Health officers also found the kitchen to be in a dirty condition. Previous advice to clean the kitchen and its utensils had been ignored.

It was concluded that cross-contamination was the most likely reason for the presence of nut protein.