Krispy Kreme fined £216,000 after piece of metal found in doughnut

Krispy Kreme has been fined £216,000 after a sharp piece of metal was found in a doughnut purchased in Leicestershire.

Melton Borough Council, who prosecuted the firm, said it was contacted about the incident in Melton Mowbray in 2021.

The customer, the council said, was told by Krispy Kreme the metal was a piece of foil, but did not accept this and raised concerns with authorities.

Krispy Kreme UK Ltd later admitted three food hygiene and safety offences.

The council said the complainant had originally contacted the doughnut and coffeehouse chain, but refused to accept their explanation that the metal was a piece of foil from the packaging.

Krispy Kreme conceded it had received two further complaints of a similar nature and had identified damage to a piece of equipment, a vari-mixer.

However, the authority said "no controls were in place that could have mitigated the hazards" that led to the incident, such as metal detection or checks of the machine.

Tom Pickwell, senior solicitor at the council, said: "The council would expect a large national company to have appropriate measures in place to ensure the food safety and hygiene throughout the whole process of the manufacturing, including checks on all equipment.

"The fact that the vari-mixer was omitted from the checks does, in the view of the council, fall short of the appropriate levels and a suitable and sufficient safety management system."

Mr Pickwell added it presented a risk of choking or cutting within the mouth.

Along with the fine, Krispy Kreme UK Ltd was ordered to pay a £181 victim surcharge, with the council awarded their full costs of £4,255.30 at a hearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court on 5 September.

A spokesperson for Krispy Kreme UK said: "We apologise unreservedly for this incident and for any upset caused to the affected customer.

"We fully accept the outcome and lessons learnt from this process.

"We have put in place additional controls that will help prevent an issue like this occurring again."

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