Out of Office Coffee Shop Limited pleaded guilty to two offences under the Food Safety Act
Cookies were sold as ‘nut free’ but which contained pecan nut, the offences took place at the Newport Pagnell branch of Out of Office Coffee in November 2017.
A family visited the coffee shop on 4 November 2017 and asked staff if any of the food products on sale were nut-free as one of the children has a nut allergy. They were advised that the oatmeal and cranberry cookie was nut free by staff however after purchasing the cookies the father of the boy noticed pieces of nut in the cookie.
After further checks with staff, it was discovered that the cookie actually contained 10% pecan nut.
Fortunately on this occasion the child did not consume any of the cookie however a complaint was made following the incident to MK Council’s Trading Standards team who then visited the premises on 7 November 2017.
During this visit Trading Standards officers were also told that the oatmeal and cranberry cookie was ‘nut free’. Later analysis showed that it contained traces of pecan nuts.
Appearing at MK Magistrates Court, Out of Office Coffee Limited pleaded guilty to two offences. The company was fined a total of £6,800 and ordered to pay £3000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £170, a total of £9970.
Sue Crawley, MK Council’s Trading Standards Team Leader, said “On two occasions a potentially life-threatening situation has been avoided thanks to the vigilance of the parents and by our officers.”
“If you are selling food as nut free you have a legal duty to ensure that it is 100% nut free because it could have had very serious health consequences or even be fatal for people with a nut allergy.’”
“The sentence from the court sends a clear message to all food retailers so that they give accurate information about allergenic ingredients and make sure labels describe the food clearly and properly.”
“We will investigate and take appropriate action to ensure that food businesses comply with the law.”
