Hotel fined after customer went into anaphylactic shock after being served nuts
A hotel in Cambridge has been ordered to pay £4,400 after a dish containing nuts was served to a customer whose allergy had earlier been highlighted.
The customer, who had eaten at Arundel House hotel, subsequently went into anaphylactic shock and required hospital treatment.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Trading Standards brought the case against the hotel after receiving a complaint.
Peterborough Magistrates Court had heard that staff at the hotel had been informed that two people in a party had severe nut allergies, but this information was not effectively communicated to kitchen staff resulting in a pasta dish being prepared with nuts.
On investigation Trading Standards officers found that the allergen information sheet in the kitchen was not up-to-date and that systems for communicating allergens to the kitchen were inadequate.
The hotel pleaded guilty to serving unsafe food, which was taken into account by the District Judge who also acknowledged that corrective action had been taken.
The business was ordered to pay a £1,500 fine, £2,000 towards the investigation costs, a £150 victim surcharge and £750 in compensation to the victim.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's head of regulatory services, Peter Gell, said: "We're pleased with this result, but are disappointed that many businesses are still not controlling allergens safely. After a number of high-profile cases nationally where people have died we are still finding problems.
"The hotel co-operated fully with our Trading Standards service and their own investigation had already led to a range of improvements; but these could have been identified and put into action before a customer was hospitalised."
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