 Guilty of mislabelling the food supplied |
A
London-based cash and carry has been fined £6,000 for selling almond mix powder
that contained peanut.
EHOs
from Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s prosecuted Soms Uddin Shahin and Sima
Enterprise Limited of Newham for food labelling and Food Information Regulation
offences.
The
accused were found to have risked the lives of customers after applying an
‘almond mix powder’ food label onto a 10kg box of ‘peanut and almond mix’
product and selling it to a Southend restaurant in December 2015.
EHOs
discovered the anomaly when carrying out a national sampling programme funded
by the Food Standards Agency.
A
sampling officer visited a local restaurant in October 2015 and purchased a
‘peanut-free’ chicken passanda for analysis. This showed that the nut content
of the meal was almost entirely derived from peanut rather than
almond.
Analysis
of the sample taken from the product showed there was more than two thirds
peanut protein and less than one third almond protein in it. The restaurant
that ordered the box of almond powder was oblivious to its peanut
content.
The
defendants pleaded guilty to two food offences. One under the Food Safety Act
1990 (as amended) Section 15 (1)(b) and (3) selling food with a label printed
on the container which is likely to mislead the purchaser as to the nature of
the food.
The
other under Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 Chapter IV Article 9(1)(c) and Annex
II; The Food Information Regulations 2014 Regulation 10 (1)(a) failure to
indicate ‘Peanut’ as an allergenic ingredient on the product label or on a
commercial document referring to the food
Cllr
Flewitt, executive councillor for housing, planning and public protection services,
said: ‘Southend’s environmental health team’s food sampling shone light on what
was effectively a ticking time bomb. As around five in every 10,000 people in
the UK are thought to have a peanut allergy, there’s no knowing how many people
this intervention has spared from sickness or even death.
‘This
prosecution – and the size of the fine and costs ordered by the court –
reflects the severity of the offence. It sends a clear message to reckless
operators within the food industry that imperilling the lives of the public
bears a hefty price.’
The
defendants were found to have risked lives by mislabelling food, thereby
concealing its allergenic peanut content. Mr Shahin was fined £1,224 and £120
victim surcharge. Sims Enterprise was fined £2,083 and £130 victim surcharge
plus £2,720 costs.