According to the BBC, Su Tung Chow, the owner of the New China House takeaway on Derby road, Chesterfield was fined more than £2,500 for breaching food safety rules.
The customer ordered a peanut free option but the meal he was served included the nuts and he had to be taken for hospital treatment. The customer was awarded a sum of £200.00 by the court by way of compensation.
The court heard that the restaurant failed to highlight the peanut content in a spare ribs meal after the customer had taken care to point out the details of his allergy. Derbyshire county council have stated following the incident that allergy sufferers eating out must be protected.
Councillor Carol Hart was particularly vocal about allergy sufferers having the ability to make informed choices about what they eat and stated that “Restaurant owners that do not stick to the guidelines should take this court case as a warning that they will be prosecuted if they flout these laws”.
There are different severity levels for nut allergies, with the worst leading to symptoms such as swelling of the lips, tongue, throat or face and this may lead to difficulty breathing. Dizziness is a common symptom and those with a severe nut allergy could develop anaphylaxis which could cause them to collapse or become unconscious. It is therefore imperative that restaurants take care to make sure that the ingredients that go in to meals are properly identified for the benefit of the customer. The customer could have easily suffered a more severe injury as a result of not being fully informed about the contents of his meal and deservedly the takeaway has been fined as a result of the incident due to their negligence.