Chef fined for serving nuts in chicken korma

London: The chef of a restaurant in the UK has been fined over £2,300 for serving a chicken korma curry with peanuts while claiming it was nut-free.

Bangladesh-origin Mohammed Uddin of Masala Indian Cuisine in Grimsby in east England pleaded guilty to selling the contaminated dish, which contained 6.8 milligrammes of peanuts, enough to endanger allergy sufferers.

The 44-year-old claimed he could not explain how the peanut had ended up in the korma but accepted there had been cross-contamination, The Grimsby Telegraph reported.

Prosecutor Marcus Hirst told the court earlier this week that in January 2016, a test carried out by North East Lincolnshire Council’s Trading Standards team revealed a korma dish sold at the restaurant contained traces of peanut.

A subsequent food check also carried out by Trading Standards just two months later also returned adverse results.

“The sample was sent away for analysis...the dish provided at least 6.8 milligrammes of peanuts. Anything above 5 milligrammes could result in reaction for a high-risk individual. Mr Uddin was interviewed under caution and in that interview he said he did not put peanuts in the meal,” Hirst said.

Uddin was then visited and presented with the results and sent letters containing advice about food contamination.

In October 2016, a Trading Standards officer posing as a customer ordered a chicken korma from Masala Indian Cuisine, requesting the dish did not contain nuts but it still had traces of nuts. Hirst said the case had been brought to court against a backdrop with 615% increase in number of hospital admissions.