Rainforest Café owners fined £45,000 after child suffered allergic reaction

The owners of the now closed Rainforest Café on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue have been fined £45,000 after a child with a wheat allergy was hospitalised after dining there.

In October 2021 a customer reported her seven-year-old son had become seriously ill after eating a meal at the restaurant which was advertised as gluten-free. The child has since made a full recovery.

Inspectors from Westminster City Council visited the Rainforest Café and found multiple breaches of food hygiene legislation.

This included storing gluten-free burger buns alongside regular buns, failing to have separate equipment to serve gluten-free food, and a lack of staff training around handling allergens and communicating information to customers.

The investigation found that the restaurant’s food safety management system did not include documented procedures or records for the safe preparation of gluten-free meals, in breach of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles.

Trocadero (London) Hotel Limited, which owned the popular themed restaurant at the time, pleaded guilty to all five offences at Southwark Crown Court on 10 October.

Cllr Aicha Less, deputy leader and cabinet member for public prosecution at Westminster City Council said: "The lapses in public safety in this case fall well below the standard we expect for restaurants in Westminster. I want to thank the food and health and safety team for their hard work and perseverance. Customers should have peace of mind when dining out in the city.

“We work with all businesses to ensure they maintain appropriate food standards and will not hesitate in taking action when customers are placed at risk."

Rainforest Café closed after 25 years of trading in 2022 and the site since been taken over by Bavarian-themed beer hall Albert’s Schloss, which is run by the Mission Mars hospitality group.

Trocadero (London) Hotel Limited is also the parent company of the Zedwell hotel brands in London.

Rules around allergens in restaurants have been tightened since 2021 when Natasha’s Law came into force and businesses face hefty fines for failing to comply with the rules. Earlier this year a restaurant in Uxbridge was fined £43,816 after a customer with a nut allergy required hospital treatment after eating a meal containing undeclared allergens.

Image: Chrispictures / Shutterstock