A bride with a severe nut allergy was given a wedding cake containing traces of nuts and whole layers of plastic by a baker who has now been fined almost £4,000.
Faye Selway, 49, of Glen Road, Wadebridge, Cornwall, pleaded guilty at Bodmin Magistrates Court to four charges under the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
The case was brought by Cornwall Council after a customer complained about plastic contamination in a wedding cake supplied by Ms Selway in April of this year.
Plastic found in cake layers
Kitchen staff at the wedding venue discovered pieces of plastic between the icing layers when the cake was cut to serve to guests. As a result, the cake was not served for fear of further pieces of plastic posing a health risk.
The customer contacted Cornwall Council after Ms Selway refused to provide a refund.
On investigation, it was found that Ms Selway had given the customer both written and verbal assurance that the cake would be nut free and made in a completely nut free environment at her cake studio. This was vital because one of the brides has a severe nut allergy and had previously been hospitalised with anaphylaxis.
Domestic kitchen not registered
Further investigations revealed that the cake was not made in the studio but in a domestic kitchen, which could not be the nut free environment that was crucial to the brides.
The court heard Ms Selway vacated the cake studio nine months before taking the order, knowing it would not be made in a dedicated studio. Neither the cake studio nor her domestic kitchen were registered with Cornwall Council as a food business, which is required by law, and therefore had not been subjected to food safety interventions including allergen control.
Ms Selway had been advised in writing by the council when considering setting up the cake studio that she would need to register as a food business if she pursued the venture.
Council takes enforcement action
The council said had the plastic not been in the cake and it had been served at the wedding, the potential for nut contamination could have had catastrophic results.
The magistrates fined Ms Selway £896 and ordered her to pay the council's costs of £3,067, totalling £3,963.
Nick Kelly, group leader for food safety, health and safety and port health at Cornwall Council, said: "The legislation around allergens in food are there to ensure consumers have accurate advice to enable them to make an informed decision in respect of the foods they consume. In this case, the misleading information could have had life threatening consequences."
Councillor Thalia Marrington, cabinet member with responsibility for community safety and public protection at Cornwall Council, added: "This case highlights the importance of ensuring businesses provide accurate information in relation to the foods they sell. Making misleading claims is totally unacceptable and in instances like this can be life threatening to the consumer."
