A limited company, company director and two managers have been prosecuted and fined after a Coventry Trading Standards investigation into the hospitalisation of a 14-year-old with a nut allergy.

The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance after being served a hot chocolate drink, that was instead made from Nutella at PGR Restaurant, Priory Place, Coventry.  

On 23 October 2019 at Coventry Magistrates Court, PGR Restaurant Ltd was fined £16,667 and ordered to pay costs of £598 plus a £120 victim surcharge. 

Habibeh Pourali, 47, of Lupton Avenue, Coventry, the sole company director was fined £1661, ordered to pay costs of £598 and a £120 victim surcharge.  

Majed Bahgozin, 51, of Lupton Avenue, Coventry, the restaurant manager was fined £2169, ordered to pay costs of £598 and a £120 victim surcharge 

Masoud Behgozin, 50, of Sidbury Road, Coventry, the restaurant day to day manager was fined £2169, ordered to pay costs of £598 and a £120 victim surcharge 

All three individuals pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013. Habibeh Pourali also pleaded guilty to both counts on behalf of PGR restaurant. 

The court was told that the mother of the boy contacted Trading Standards after the incident as she was aware that the restaurant was serving hot chocolate that contained Nutella and they were not confident that they were describing the drink correctly.  

She stated that she had contacted the restaurant by phone and had spoken to a manger to request he change the menu/ingredients before something even more serious happened. However, she did not believe the restaurant was taking the matter seriously so contacted Trading Standards. 

In response to the allegation officers made an unannounced visit to the restaurant and ordered a hot chocolate drink and then submitted it for analysis.  

It was noted that whilst various menu items were marked as containing nuts, no such disclosure was made in respect to the hot chocolate drink.  

The analyst report received indicated that the hot chocolate sample contained 17.8mg of Hazelnut protein. The reference dose to elicit a reaction in 1% of hazelnut allergy sufferers is 0.1mg.  

The court heard that before this incident both this restaurant, and associated business premises under the control of these individuals, had received visits and advice from the Council on the importance of proper allergen control systems and how to comply with the law.  

The restaurant management cooperated fully with the investigation and admitted their responsibility in regard to the matter, blaming a breakdown in communication for failure to take remedial action between the incident and the subsequent Trading Standards’ visit.  

If consumers have any concern about the accuracy of a food description, they can contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040 506.  

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