Search icon

Food

23rd May 2016

A UK restaurant owner has been jailed after the death of a customer with a peanut allergy

Paul Wilson died after a severe allergic reaction

Ellen Tannam

A Yorkshire-based restaurateur has been jailed for six years for the manslaughter of a customer who experienced an allergic reaction to a curry that was served to him.

38-year-old Paul Wilson suffered a severe anaphylactic shock in January 2014 after eating a takeaway from Mohammed Zaman’s establishment, The Indian Garden in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

The BBC report that Zaman used cheaper ingredients containing peanuts to cut corners, and had swapped an almond powder for a cheaper one that caused the reaction.

Mr Wilson had specified that he wanted a ‘nut-free’ takeaway when he ordered from the establishment in 2014.

He died three weeks after another customer had a similar allergic reaction requiring a hospital stay.

The judge described Zamad as ‘reckless’ and stated that the 52-year-old “put profit before safety”.

Wilson’s mother Margaret stated that her son was “meticulous” about dealing with peanuts after a reaction to a chocolate bar at the age of seven.

Zamad, a father-of-four was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and six food safety offences.

(Images via The BBC)