Over the last couple of years, the word allergens has become commonplace in the media and everyday conversation. It is most relevant to the 2 million people in the UK whose lives are directly affected by allergens which can have fatal consequences if not understood, managed and controlled well.
In recent months there has been a lot of press coverage around cases in the UK where food businesses have failed in ensuring safe food or allergen information for consumers. The cases have led to prosecutions of both multinational food outlets and local take-aways.
This week it has been reported that the food business operators of Royal Spice were handed prison sentences following the conviction of manslaughter after a 15 year old girl died after ordering a take-away from the restaurant on the 30th December 2016.
Royal Spice owner Mohammed Abdul Kuddus, 40, and manager Harun Rashid, 38, were found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence in October following the death of the teenager in 2016.
Now the two have been jailed – with Kuddus receiving a two-year prison sentence and Rashid receiving three years behind bars.
The Inquest report described how Megan Lee and her friend ordered a take-away online adding in the notes that she had a nut and prawn allergy. The meal arrived at 6pm and after Megan consumed a kebab and naan, she had an allergic reaction. The friend’s mother gave Megan some liquid antihistamine which made her feel better.
Later in the evening after she returned home the allergic reaction returned and worsened, her lips swelled up and she struggled to breathe as her airways narrowed. An ambulance took her to hospital where her heart stopped and she went on to suffer irreversible brain damage. She was pronounced dead on New Year’s Day, 2017.
An investigation was launched by police, environmental health and trading standards on 6th January 2017.
In court the prosecution highlighted that the operators of Royal Spice failed to pay attention to the information provided to them on the order. Local authorities went to visit the property and stated ‘there were no procedures in place in relation to allergen management and no audit of their available dishes or written records of their recipes was either made or kept.’
Environmental Health Officers stated that the premise was filthy and had mice droppings. There were no systems for cleaning or to avoid contamination or cross-contamination of ingredients and dishes.
Due to the long list of failings in health, hygiene, management and monitoring at Royal Spice, the business owners and the manager were found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence. This terrible incident really highlights the importance of ensuring that businesses have good food safety policies and procedures in place to ensure all staff have received training in food safety and allergen awareness.
It is very important to ensure the following allergen procedures are in place :-
Source:
https://www.thecaterer.com/articles/541000/takeaway-workers-to-serve-prison-sentences-after-nut-allergy-death-of-megan-lee
https://www.thecaterer.com/articles/540293/takeaway-owner-and-manager-guilty-of-manslaughter-after-megan-lee-allergy-death
Recent fatalities make allergen awareness and safety a top priority