Preston takeaway meals sold by Lytham man could have proved deadly, court told

The former proprietor of Yummy Chinese and Cantonese takeaway has appeared in court after a probe found a meal contained egg protein.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Wei Guang Luo, 54, of St Alban's Road, Lytham St Annes, sold a duck-in-black-pepper-sauce dish as egg-free but a test found it contained egg protein, and admits a food safety offence of selling a dish injurious to the health of consumers allergic to egg.

Prosecuting for Lancashire Trading Standards, Nick McNamara said on June 6, 2019, trading standards officers posing as members of the public visited Yummy as part of a targeted exercise looking at the supply of takeaway food to consumers declaring food allergies.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: "Staff at Yummy have previously been warned about the consequences of this offence after two informal samples, purchased on February 5, 2018, had failed for the same reason. "Mr Wei, who was the chef, and his wife – who was involved in the test purchase now before the court – had both also attended allergen training delivered by Preston City Council Environmental Health in November 2018.

Yummy takeawayYummy takeaway
Yummy takeaway

"The prosecution say that, while the offence on this occasion was probably attributable to inadvertent cross contamination, wthe fact that the business had twice been given advice following failed informal samples suggests a failure to take the issue seriously.

" Symptoms of an allergy to egg proteins can range from mild skin irritation and sickness through to difficulty breathing and unconsciousness. In some cases exposure can be fatal."

The court heard trading standards officers placed an order and one informed an employee he was allergic to egg, asking her if that would be OK.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She replied it would, and no staff referred him to any written information about allergies.

The food, comprising a main dish of duck in black pepper sauce and sides of boiled rice, seaweed and a portion of prawn crackers, was then formally sampled at the County Scientific Services Laboratory the following day.

Analysis of the dishes revealed that while the side dishes were satisfactory, the duck in black pepper sauce tested positive for the presence of egg proteins.

The County Analyst for Lancashire concluded any person allergic to egg proteins who consumed the dish would be expected to experience an adverse reaction.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr McNamara added: " Asked to account for what had happened Mr Wei speculated that it could have been due to cross-contamination caused by re-using a spatula that had not

fully cleaned after preparing a dish containing egg. He said that as a result of this incident he was now refusing to serve customers declaring food allergies."

The premises closed permanently in March 2020 and Wei is now unemployed.

District Judge Joanna Hurst described it as a very serious offence which could have led to a death.

She imposed a £320 fine, £34 surcharge and £1,898 costs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Retailers of loose food – non-prepacked food – have a legal obligation to supply only food that is safe to eat, part of which is to provide accurate allergen information to consumers.

There are 14 allergens that must be identified if they are included as ingredients in a dish, one of which is egg.

Restaurant and takeaway food is subject to these requirements. In addition to displaying general information about the possibility of allergens, retailers must be prepared to identify any dishes that contain allergens and be able to identify what those allergens are.

Where a dish is claimed to be free of a particular allergen, rigorous procedures and staff training should be in place to prevent inadvertent inclusion or cross-contamination.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In 2004 Kate Obertelli, 21, a nail technician from Westhoughton, died from a severe asthma attack, due to an allergic reaction to peanuts in a dish sold by a Chorley Indian takeaway.

The Lancashire Post is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. For unlimited access to Lancashire news and information online, you can subscribe here.