Appeal rejected after allergy death

The Court of appeal has upheld the conviction of Mohammed Zaman, the restauranteur who was sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment for gross negligence manslaughter following the death of Paul Wilson. 

Mr Wilson died in his North Yorkshire home after consuming a take away meal from Mr Zaman’s restaurant.  The meal was found to contain peanuts despite specific information given to the restaurant by Mr Wilson identifying his severe peanut allergy and stating that the meal must be free of nuts. The meal he received had sufficient peanut content to cause Mr Wilson fatal injury, despite the waiter stating the meal would be nut free and the order being clearly marked ‘no nuts’.

There had been several incidents at the restaurant before the death of Mr Wilson, and Mr Zaman had been given several warnings by Trading Standards, particularly to do with the use of the (significantly cheaper) mixed nut powder and the labelling of equipment and menus.

During the appeal Mr Zaman’s legal team reiterated that although he accepted he owed Mr Wilson a duty and understood the risks posed by food allergens, he was let down by his employees. Although there were no written policies in place, Mr Zaman was adamant that he had verbally trained his staff and strictly instructed them not to serve customers with nut allergies as this had been advised by Trading Standards.

It was held that Mr Zaman had been persistently negligent for several months in the running of his restaurant. He had ignored clear warnings, and had been driven by costs savings rather than customer care. The conviction for both the gross negligence manslaughter conviction and food hygiene/safety offences were upheld.

Should you have any questions about your legal obligations in relation to food safety and hygiene law, or in the event that you are involved in a food hygiene/safety investigation or prosecution, and need a specialist Solicitor, call James Lowe, our Regulatory and Licensing Partner on 07833 240 400 for advice and assistance.