Takeaway fined over woman's peanut allergy ordeal

A Merseyside takeaway owner has been fined £8,075 after a customer suffered a severe allergic reaction despite being told her curry would be peanut -free.

Babul Khan, owner of Spicy Kitchen in Greasby, Wirral, was sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to eight food safety offences in June.

Antonia Brenton, who has a potentially life-threatening peanut allergy and carries an EpiPe, ordered a vegetable korma from the eatery which left her vomiting and seriously ill.

Ms Brenton, who was assured her meal did not contain peanuts, said she "immediately knew something was wrong".

Liverpool, Knowsley, and St Helens Magistrates’ Court heard how the customer had ordered the korma, a plain poppadom and some rice from the takeaway before the incident in 2023.

She said she received assurances it would be safe for her to eat.

But after eating a poppadom and two spoonfuls of the curry her gums, lips, and tongue swelled up and her face went red, the court heard.

Ken Abraham, prosecuting on behalf of Wirral Council, which enforces trading standards, said Ms Brenton then took antihistamines to try and calm the reaction but was left vomiting and retching.

She remained ill until the next day, affecting a family wedding she was due to attend.

Ms Benton complained to the council, who ordered the same curry from the takeaway and tested it to find it contained almost a hundred times the guideline amount of peanut protein.

The local authority tried to work with the business but found serious failings to address health and safety issues, including mesures to prevent cross-contamination.

The presiding district judge said the case was “troubling” arguing the sale of food was not a simple matter and potentially dangerous.

"This isn’t red tape or bureaucracy. It’s a matter of life or death potentially," she added.

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