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PA lab finds egg in rice dish claimed to be egg free

A Chinese takeaway in Llandybie has been prosecuted by Carmarthenshire County Council for a food safety offence. The case against Ahmed Cuisine Ltd was heard at Carmarthen Magistrates Court when the director entered a guilty plea on behalf of the company to an offence contrary to s.14 of the Food Safety Act 1990.

The court heard that the case was the result of a routine food sampling visit undertaken on July 17, 2014. During this initial visit a portion of special fried rice (without egg) was ordered. It was found to have a high level of cross-contamination when tested by the Public Analysts, Minton Treharne & Davies (MTD). The company was given guidance and warned there would be a follow up sampling visit.

The business was visited a second time on November 6, 2014, when three portions of house special fried rice (no egg) were sampled and tested by MTD. The dish was contaminated with egg but at three times the level of contamination of the previous visit. On both visits the trading standards officer said he wanted a meal without egg as he had an allergy.

Christopher Worrall, for the company, said the management had taken steps to prevent it from happening again, including increased staff training and disciplinary measures.

Allergen information was provided on notices, the menu and website, a database of regular customers had been set up confirming that they did not have an allergy. Customers were asked and if they did have an allergy staff would not serve them, he added.

The company was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £603 and a victim surcharge of £50.

Executive board member for environmental and public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “It is vital that customers with allergies can be confident that the food they are served is safe for them.

“We will prosecute when food outlets do not take sufficient care to avoid cross contamination following advice and written guidance.

“Trading Standards carries out a programme of routine sampling throughout the year and all businesses will have received written guidance beforehand.”