A Chinese takeaway in a Welsh seaside town is more than £1,300 out of pocket after selling ‘gluten-free’ sweet and sour chicken balls which contained gluten - despite insisting three times that they did not.
Sao Mai Dragon, in Stammers Road, Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, has been penalised after a council officer visited the premises to check allergen controls as part of the authority’s sampling programme.
The officer placed an order for a takeaway by telephone on February 19, 2020, and made it clear that she wanted a dish that was suitable for someone with a gluten allergy. In response she was told that lots of the dishes on the menu did not contain gluten, including sweet and sour chicken balls in batter.
When the officer arrived to pick up the takeaway, she checked again by asking twice if the order was safe to consume for someone allergic to gluten, and both times she was told that it was perfectly safe because the batter around the chicken balls was made with cornflour, not wheat flour.
In order to check this, the dish was sent away for analysis and, three weeks later, results came back confirming that the chicken balls did in fact contain gluten.
The owner of Sao Mai Dragon, Mr Luyen van Nguyen, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Friday (January 15) and pleaded guilty to a charge relating to food being placed on the market which was unsafe. He stated that it was his wife that had dealt with the order in question, and that she probably did not understand the situation given that she usually works in the takeaway’s kitchen.
He also stated that his business was currently closed due to the coronavirus lockdown and that he was receiving government support.
As the business owner, he was fined £288 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £32.
On top of that, he must pay costs of £1,000 to Pembrokeshire Council.
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Cris Tomos, the council’s cabinet member for environment, public protection and Welsh language, said: “It is absolutely vital that food businesses provide accurate information about allergens.
"Where they are catering for allergy sufferers this can literally be a matter of life and death. Anyone needing further advice can visit the council website or that of the Food Standards Agency.”
