Grimsby restaurant fined after serving potentially hazardous korma in undercover allergen sting

A restaurant in Grimsby has been fined after serving a potentially hazardous ‘nut-free' korma following an undercover operation carried out by North East Lincolnshire Council.

Officers from the council's Trading Standards unit requested a nut-free chicken korma from the Spice of Life restaurant on Wellowgate in July 2017.

However the portion they received was found to contain 4.3mg of peanut, equivalent to 12mg per kilogram - a potentially hazardous amount that could trigger an allergic reaction in someone with a severe allergy.

Last week the company's director at the time Mohammed Abdul Saleek, 55, of Welholme Road, Grimsby, was fined £500 for a breach of the Food Safety Act. He was also ordered to pay £1,757 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Meanwhile the current director of Spice of Life Mohammed Hussain Shahir entered a guilty plea on the company's behalf. It was fined a further £2,000, and was ordered to pay £1,757 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

A statement from the council said the sting operation was one of many that took place in the area after the death of a man who had gone into anaphylactic shock following a meal at a separate Indian takeaway.

"Our message to those in the food industry is clear - abide by the law and listen to customers to avoid the risk."