Restaurant owner fined
RESTAURANT HAD ASSURED FAMILY THAT IT COULD DEAL WITH ALLERGY
A WELL-KNOWN curry house has been fined after serving a dish containing peanuts to a girl with a nut allergy.
Staff at Gulshan, in Tynemouth, gave the teenager the meal, despite repeatedly assuring her and her family that it was safe to eat.
However, after just a few mouthfuls, the then-16-yearold’s tongue began to tingle and swell as she suffered the start of an allergic reaction, a court heard.
She was taken to North Tyneside General Hospital by her parents before being transferred as an emergency to Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington to be treated.
Shockingly, North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court was told that the girl and her family were made to pay for their meal by staff before they left the restaurant to take her for treatment. The victim was given adrenaline and discharged the following day.
Now the owner of Gulshan, Sonero Tynemouth Ltd, has been fined £3,767 and ordered to pay £2,744 costs and £1,000 compensation after the company pleaded guilty to breaching section 14 (1) of the Food Safety Act 1990.
Company director Suffian Rahman was in the dock to represent the business and admit the charge.
Outlining the case, Ian Palmer, from North Tyneside Council, said the victim and her family booked a table with the restaurant on November 10, 2018 after assurances over the phone that they could cater for her nut allergy.
On arrival, they were reassured once more and the teenager ordered a chicken masala curry. “Within two or
three mouthfuls, she suffered an allergic reaction,” Mr Palmer said.
“She began to feel unwell and her tongue began to tingle and swell.”
After being taken to hospital, he girl was released the following day after an adrenaline injection.
Meanwhile, officers from the local authority’s food safety team were informed and remnants of the curry were taken for testing, magistrates were told.
They were found to contain a peanut protein of a level capable of causing a reaction in someone with a nut allergy, Mr Palmer said.
Further investigations were conducted at the restaurant and inadequate food safety procedures were found, including wrongly labelled ingredients, lack of staff training and insufficient separation of food to prevent cross-contamination of allergen ingredients. This resulted in the food hygiene rating for Gulshan decreasing from four to one. Stuart Athey, defending, said Mr Rahman couldn’t be more sorry for what had happened and dramatic improvements had been made since. The solicitor said: “It still shocks him that this has happened. He even tells me that the family had to pay for their meal. “He was shocked staff made them do this, He launched a full
Ian Palmer, North Tyneside Council
inquiry straightaway.”
Mr Athey said the waiter who served the family and the chef had now been sacked and that Mr Rahman had tried to reimburse the family for the meal.
The court heard that improvements had been made and that, after reinspection in April 2019, the restaurant now had a level 5 food hygiene rating.
Phil Scott, head of environment, housing and leisure at North Tyneside Council, said: “It’s hugely important that people with food allergies have the confidence that regulations are being followed.
“We’ve all seen the media reports of the tragic deaths caused by reactions to food so these issues should be a priority for all food establishments.
“As demonstrated by this case, our team will not hesitate to prosecute where necessary but will also provide advice and support to ensure businesses are compliant.”
The girl began to feel unwell and her tongue began to tingle and swell