Restaurant fined after peanut allergy teen suffered shock

Eleanor Lincoln spent her 18th birthday in hospital after she suffered a reaction to nuts in a takeaway curry

A restaurant operator who served a curry containing nuts to a woman with an allergy has been fined.

Eleanor Lincoln suffered anaphylactic shock after eating the takeaway for her 18th birthday in March 2021. She was treated in hospital but discharged.

Despite specifying no peanuts, the chicken tikka masala from Khan's restaurant in Heaton Road, Newcastle, contained peanut and almond protein.

Its operator was found guilty of one Food Hygiene Regulations breach. Afterwards it said allergen controls had been strengthened.

The 18-year-old was monitored in hospital overnight after struggling to breathe following her birthday meal

Ms Lincoln, who was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at the age of six, quickly went into shock after eating the curry.

Her mother Bridie said: "She started to feel really ill, her tongue was tingling, her lips were swelling and her airways started to close.

"I gave her some glasses of water and thankfully she started to be sick which was vital to expel the allergens from her body."

She was given a dose of adrenalin from an EpiPen at home before an ambulance was called.

She was taken to Newcastle's RVI , struggling to breathe, and was given steroids and discharged the next day.

Environmental health inspectors found the food from Khan's Restaurant contained peanut protein

She has since made a full recovery but her mother said the trauma came the following day.

She said: "It was a real shock for us all, just disbelief that an evening celebration had gone so badly wrong.

"We all stayed calm but the next day all I could think about was that yesterday I had been planning my daughter's birthday and today I could have been arranging her funeral."

Newcastle City Council's environmental health team started an investigation.

It said it found when the order was made the family specifically asked for no peanuts but staff missed the crucial information.

Samir Najeeb, the restaurant's food business operator, was charged with two breaches - one under the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations and one under the Food Safety Act.

He pleaded not guilty to both charges but was found guilty of the Food Hygiene Regulations charge. The other charge was dismissed.

He was fined £450 with £3,000 costs at Newcastle Magistrates' Court

'No room for complacency'

In a statement, Khan's Restaurant said it took food and allergen safety "very seriously" but "regrettably" Ms Lincoln's "allergy request was missed", the "first such incident in 23 years of trading".

It said: "We immediately apologised to the customer and since then, we have strengthened our allergen controls and introduced extra checks to ensure our customers' safety."

Council cabinet member Irim Ali, who has responsibility for regulation, said: “The case highlights the need for very strict management of food orders and great care needed when serving food. There is no room for complacency or error.

“The public must be confident that businesses are safe and take no risk with their safety. We are committed to supporting businesses with training and help but will hold those to account that put lives at risk.”