Takeaway fined for selling lamb curry which was actually beef
Food officers were in a surprise when they ordered a lamb korma from a takeaway in Brighouse and found out it actually consisted of beef.
Rana Fiaz, owner of B Medina Takeaway, appeared before Calderdale Magistrates Court on 12 May 2015 and pleaded guilty to selling a lamb korma curry that was beef.
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He was fined £265 with a £27 victim surcharge and was ordered to pay £2066 prosecution costs for breaching the Food Safety Act 1990.
Officers from West Yorkshire Trading Standards made the discovery after ordering a lamb korma over the telephone on 10 July last year.
Later that evening they went to the takeaway to collect the order. The meal was then submitted to the Public Analyst for testing and it was reported that the meal actually consisted of beef, not lamb.
On 30 October 2014, Rana was interviewed by investigating officers at Trading Standards and said he took full responsibility for the business which he had run for over 16 years, however he was not in the country at the time the order was made.
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He said that when a customer orders a lamb curry and they don’t have any lamb to supply that evening, the workers are supposed to tell the customers, however that did not happen in this case.
The receipts supplied at the time of the interview showed that the meat purchased for use in the curry was beef. However the receipts supplied were not original, they had been produced after the offence had been committed.
No evidence was supplied to demonstrate due diligence, nor the recent purchase of lamb for use in curries.
David Lodge, Head of Trading Standards, said: “Consumers rightly expect to get what they pay for. This takeaway substituted beef for lamb without informing the customer. Trading Standards will continue to take action against takeaways or restaurants flouting the law.”
