A Chinese food take-out restaurant located in Coventry, England was fined £20,000 ($26,000) for selling a meal advertised as nut-free that was determined to contain peanuts.
The town council’s Trading Standards group stated the quantity of peanuts found in the meal could have led to the death of an individual with a peanut allergy. They also stated that selling food misrepresented as safe for specific circumstances is a criminal offense.
As part of a routine survey, officers of the Trading Standards group called the restaurant and ordered a Mongolian Crispy Lamb meal advertised as nut-free back in November 2018.
The director of the company confirmed the meal was nut-free during pick-up. Subsequent testing revealed the dish contained 14 times more peanut protein than the threshold determined to cause a reaction in 1% of the most sensitive peanut allergy sufferers.
Station Wall Limited, the company that operated the Wok Express take-out, admitted to the charge at Coventry’s Magistrates’ Court this week and agreed to pay the fine along with court costs and expenses.
We at SnackSafely.com applaud the routine checks to ensure food safety for the allergic that are taking place in municipalities in the UK. We urge authorities in the US do likewise, though we know of no such efforts currently underway. If you know of such efforts, please let us know.
We also remind you that you should avoid ordering food from an establishment that prepares dishes with your allergen of concern unless you have personally spoken with the management and feel confident they are able to accommodate your meal
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