From Aditi KhannaLondon, Oct 14 (PTI) The chef of an Indian restaurant inthe UK has been fined over 2,300 pounds for serving a chickenkorma curry with peanuts while claiming it was nut-free.
Bangladesh-origin Mohammed Uddin of Masala Indian Cuisinein Grimsby in east England pleaded guilty to selling thecontaminated dish, which contained 6.8 milligrammes ofpeanuts, enough to endanger allergy sufferers.
The 44-year-old claimed he could not explain how thepeanut had ended up in the korma but accepted there had beencross-contamination, 'The Grimsby Telegraph' reported.
Prosecutor Marcus Hirst told the court earlier this weekthat in January 2016, a test carried out by North EastLincolnshire Council's Trading Standards team revealed a kormadish sold at the restaurant contained traces of peanut.
A subsequent food check also carried out by TradingStandards just two months later also returned adverse results.
"The sample was sent away for analysis...the dishprovided at least 6.8 milligrammes of peanuts. Anything above5 milligrammes could result in reaction for a high-riskindividual. Mr Uddin was interviewed under caution and in thatinterview he said he did not put peanuts in the meal,” Hirstsaid.
Uddin was then visited and presented with the results andsent letters containing advice about food contamination.
In October 2016, a Trading Standards officer posing as acustomer ordered a chicken korma from Masala Indian Cuisine,requesting the dish did not contain nuts but it still hadtraces of nuts.
Hirst said the case had been brought to court against abackdrop in which there had been a 615 per cent increase inthe number of hospital admissions resulting from anaphylacticshocks over the past 20 years.
In mitigation, solicitor Kate Fairburn said Uddin was"horrified" by what the Trading Standards officers had foundand said the chef had taken steps to clamp down on cross-contamination.
Uddin pleaded guilty to selling food not of the naturesubstance/quality demanded by the purchaser and failing tocomply with European Union (EU) provision concerning foodsafety and hygiene.
Both he and company Grimsby Spice Ltd, of which Uddin isa director of, were fined to the combined sum of 800 pounds.
Uddin was also ordered to pay combined costs of 1,466pounds and victim surcharges of 60 pounds. PTI AKNSA.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.