Food businesses prosecuted for failing to protect customers with allergies

All food businesses in the UK have a legal responsibility to provide accurate allergen information to all customers that request it, and ultimately to provide food that is safe for people with allergies.

Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards food officers regularly test that food premises are meeting their responsibilities through an allergens sampling programme. Businesses found to have failed to take sufficient measures to ensure a person with specific allergies is not inadvertently supplied with food that may trigger an allergic reaction face further compliance checks.

Not doing so can have fatal consequences, as was the case with 15-year-old Megan Lee, who suffered a fatal asthma attack in 2017 after unknowingly eating a takeaway meal containing peanuts.

Following the tragedy, Megan's parents, Gemma and Adam Lee, worked with Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards officers to produce Megan's Story, a short film featuring treasured photos and video of the Oswaldtwistle schoolgirl growing up, to make businesses aware of the risks associated with allergens and ensure other families don't have to go through the same ordeal:

Two recent prosecutions demonstrate the serious consequences businesses face if they continue to fail in their duties to keep allergen sufferers safe.

The two takeaway establishments failed to ensure the safety of their food for allergy sufferers, despite receiving specific advice about the need to make improvements prior to formal action.

On 26 October 2022, a trading standards food officer posing as a customer with a milk allergy purchased a lamb seekh kebab on chapati from Mansha Sweet Centre, a takeaway in Nelson which has three other branches in the North West. It was found to contain milk protein at a level potentially harmful if consumed by someone with a milk allergy.

As a result, the business owner Mansha Sweets Limited appeared at Blackburn Magistrates court on 10 July and pled guilty to two charges of supplying food that was injurious to health and not of the nature demanded by the purchaser. The company must now pay £7229.72 in fines, a victim surcharge, and costs.

Eastern Promise Takeaway in Accrington was visited by a trading standards officer on 6 February 2023. Despite declaring a milk allergy at the time of ordering, the chicken curry purchased by the officer was also found to contain milk protein at a potentially harmful level to an allergy sufferer.

Shop owner Rafiq Hussain, 31, of Tremellyn Street, Accrington was charged with the same offences. At Blackburn Magistrates Court on 19 June, 2024 he was sentenced and must pay £1,212 in fines, surcharge, and costs.

Megan Lee's parents, Gemma and Adam, said: “We thank Lancashire Trading Standards  who continue to take action on food businesses that fail to comply with the law. This is vital work that protects the consumer and raises awareness of the dangers of allergies.

"We urge all food businesses to access the training material and resources that are freely available to them, as the consequences of getting it wrong could cost another life. There really is no excuse to be negligent in the area of allergen control.”

Councillor Michael Green, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, said:

"The unforgettable Megan's Story campaign led by Megan's brave parents has made a lasting impression on everyone who saw it. Our Trading Standards team, in memory of Megan, will always do everything in their power to continue to raise awareness of the importance of food allergens.

"The failures by these two takeaways could have had severe consequences if a person with a milk allergy had then consumed the food, which is why it is so important that our officers continue with their programme of covert food sampling.

"Well done to our Trading Standards team for their important work on this. We will continue to ensure that we do everything in our power to raise awareness of this vital issue.

"Symptoms of an allergy to milk can range from relatively mild symptoms such as swelling of the lips and face, vomiting and nausea, through to severe symptoms including difficulty breathing and unconsciousness, and even death.

"Reactions are unpredictable and there is no reliable way of knowing how an individual may react even with low levels of the allergen. It is crucial that food businesses take all necessary precautions to prevent inadvertent inclusion or cross-contamination of allergens in their food."

Lancashire County Council has a dedicated web page titled 'Allergen Information for Food Businesses' which contains  guidance, and links to specific training around allergens: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/business/trading-standards/allergy-information-for-food-businesses/