A SALISBURY restaurant has been fined more than £10,000 after serving a meal with nuts to a woman with a nut allergy.

Koh UK Ltd has been sentenced by Swindon Magistrates Court for the sale of food not of the substance demanded by the customer, following a succesful prosecution brought under the Food Safety Act 1990 by Wiltshire Council.

They were ordered to pay £10,722.13, including the costs of the prosecution, on April 23.

The company had previously admitted selling noodles containing peanuts to a customer with a serious nut allergy from their former Koh Thai restaurant in Endless Street, Salisbury at an earlier hearing in Salisbury Magistrates Court on February 25.

Salisbury magistrates heard how the Koh Thai restaurant had delivered a chicken soya noodles meal to the customer.

Speaking on behalf of the council, Syan Venton, Barrister, said the customer in question had placed an order with Koh Thai for delivery, through the Just Eat takeaway app in December 2017.

Mr Venton added: “The Just Eat receipt included information on it that the meal that she ordered was for someone with a peanut allergy.

“The restaurant received this important information but it was not conveyed to the kitchen.”

He explained how the customer began to suffer an allergic reaction after just one mouthful of the dish and quickly recognised the urgent need to take her anti-histamine medication.

Despite this prompt action she continued to suffer stomach pains, swollen lips and a swollen tongue.

A subsequent investigation by Sarah Grubb, senior environmental health officer, revealed deficiencies within the kitchen systems that could have led to the customer receiving peanut protein in her meal, or cross contamination of nut material between recipes.

Jerry Wickham, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for public protection said: “The fine and costs of over £10,000 illustrates the severity with which this case was viewed by the Magistrates and Wiltshire Council who initiated this prosecution.

"The customer was remarkably lucky that they did not lose their life, as has tragically happened in other cases.

“Customers must always feel confident when ordering food and highlighting food allergies, that their requirements are taken seriously by food outlets. It is very clear there were avoidable failings in this case and the fine must serve as a stark reminder to all food outlets.”