Restaurant fined for serving dish containing peanuts to teen with nut allergy

AN Indian restaurant in Tynemouth, near Newcastle, was fined £3,767 for serving a dish with peanuts to a teenager with nut allergy, it was reported on Thursday (28).

Staff at Gulshan also made the 16-year-old and her family pay for the food before they left the restaurant to take her to the hospital.

According to a Daily Mail report, the girl and her family were assured that the food was safe to eat when they booked a table at the restaurant in November last year.

But just after a few mouthfuls, her tongue began to tingle and swell. She was taken to North Tyneside General Hospital when she suffered the start of an allergic reaction.

The victim was discharged the following day after being given an adrenaline shot.

Following the incident, officials from the local authority's food safety team took the remnants of the chicken masala dish for testing, and they found the presence of a peanut protein, a court was told.

Sonero Tynemouth Ltd, the owners of Gulshan, have also been 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.

Investigators also found inadequate food safety procedures, resulting in the food hygiene rating for Gulshan decreasing from four to one.

Improvements have been made since the incident.

The waiter who served the family and the chef had now been sacked.

Phil Scott, head of Environment, Housing and Leisure, at North Tyneside Council, said it was 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,” he was quoted as saying.

“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.”