Durham restaurant fined £28,000 after customer suffers severe allergic reaction and in hospital
The owners of a Lebanese restaurant in Durham have been hit with a fine of more than £28,000 after being found guilty of allergen contamination, which resulted in a customer being sent to hospital.
Durham County Council took legal action against Lebaneat's after environmental health officers visited its premises on North Bailey in the city, following a customer complaint.
The customer had requested a nut and sesame free meal, however shortly after eating the food they suffered from serious anaphylaxis and had to go to hospital.
An inspection of the premises found that there were no dedicated utensils for allergen free meals; staff were not trained in allergens; the procedure for preparing and serving allergen free meals were not being followed; and there was no dedicated member of staff or management checking the food orders.
During the visit, samples were taken from the restaurant's chicken shawarma, which was from the same batch as the night the customer visited.
The manager, waiter and chef who were present on the night and involved in the customer's food order were interviewed under caution and CCTV footage was also examined.
Peterlee Magistrates Court found that there was an intentional breach of food safety regulations.
Adam & Amin Ltd have been ordered to pay a £22,000 fine , £5,984 in costs and a £190 victim surcharge, totalling more than £28,000.
Ian Harrison, Durham County Council’s business compliance manager, said: “Contamination of allergens in food is a serious health risk. Failing to follow the right procedures to protect customers can result in not only them becoming seriously ill and needing hospital treatment, but can also put customers’ lives at risk.
“It is imperative that food businesses are operating in a safe and hygienic way and in this case Lebaneat failed to ensure the safety of one of their customers. The severity of the fine reflects just how serious we, and the court, take this matter and how significant the outcome could have been for this customer.”
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