Food business fined after supplying products with peanuts rather than almonds

A food wholesaler who supplied products containing peanuts rather than almonds as claimed has been ordered to pay £18,000 in fines and costs.

The case against Euro Foods of Sunderland was brought by Cumbria County Council’s Trading Standards team.

The defendant company was found guilty of food adulteration charges after supplying the products to two takeaways in Cockermouth.

The case arose after Cumbria’s trading standards department took part in a sampling project organised by the Food Standards Agency.

Officers visited the two takeaways in January 2011 and asked if the chicken tikka masala contained peanuts. They were told that the dishes were peanut free.

Analysis subsequently revealed the presence of peanuts. An investigation then showed that Euro Foods had supplied groundnuts (peanuts) instead of almond powder as requested to another wholesaler. That wholesaler then supplied the two takeaways.

The council said the mislabelling potentially compromised the safety of customers, in particular because exposure to peanuts can cause people with allergies to go into anaphylactic shock.

Angela Jones, Trading Standards Service Manager at Cumbria County Council, said: "Trading standards are satisfied that this verdict and this case highlights the importance of labelling food correctly.

“Peanuts are a cheaper food to source than almonds, and it is absolutely unacceptable that the almonds were substituted and sent to the takeaway outlets, who are not at fault.”

She added: “In the worst case scenario the actions of Euro Foods Ltd could have been life threatening for some people. We were lucky in this instance that no peanut allergy sufferers were affected by these incorrect supplies.”