Gloucester kebab shop owner fined for misleading customers
The owner of a Gloucester kebab shop has been fined for acting in a 'highly irresponsible manner' and putting customer's health at risk.
Workers at Texas, based on Park End Road, wrongly told a diner who said they had a potentially fatal milk allergy they would be fine to eat a lamb donner.
Later the meat was found to contain 'significant levels of milk protein'.
Mohammad Nizamul Islam also advertised to customers he had a three-star food hygiene rating when the business had just been rated one-star by environmental health staff.
The owner of Texas Grill Fast Food admitted five offences of misleading customers and putting their health at risk when he appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on Wednesday 7 April.
Islam, aged 30, pleaded guilty following an investigation by Gloucestershire Trading Standards officers.
The court heard an officer posed as a customer and ordered a plain lamb donner kebab over the telephone in December 2019.
They made it clear they had a milk allergy and the business confirmed a plain donner would be fine.
After collecting the kebab, officers carried out an inspection of the premises and discovered the kebab meat sold had been bought by the business and was still in its original packaging which clearly stated it contained milk.
The kebab was sent for formal examination and the results confirmed not only did the kebab contain significant levels of milk protein, but also that it consisted mainly of beef and chicken with some lamb fat.
The Trading Standards officers also saw the shop showed a food hygiene sticker giving a rating of three, which was for ‘generally satisfactory food hygiene’.
But environmental health officers from Gloucester City Council confirmed it had been given a food hygiene score of one at its past two inspections.
Islam was fined £450, ordered to pay £1,000 towards costs and a victim surcharge of £45.Karen Smith, head of Gloucestershire Trading Standards, said: “This business acted in a highly irresponsible manner by selling a kebab containing milk despite being told the customer had a milk allergy.
"These actions can put customers’ health at risk and failing to show the correct food hygiene score was also misleading.
“This conviction shows that offenders will not get away with it and we will take action to bring them before the courts.”
Read more: