$55K fine issued for food allergy offence

The heaviest fine for a food offence involving allergies has been issued after an eight-year-old boy suffered a severe allergic reaction after being served ice-cream that he was assured was dairy-free.

Catering company Manor on High in Victoria was fined $55,000 for the offence after a magistrate convicted the company of breaching Victoria’s Food Act by “falsely describing” food with the knowledge the consumer relying on the information could “suffer physical harm”, Fairfax Media has reported.

According to Fairfax, $50,000 is the highest fine paid in NSW for a similar offence.

While attending a wedding reception, Robert Surace, who has a severe dairy allergy, was served a frozen dessert that a waiter reportedly guaranteed was dairy-free. The dessert was based on vanilla ice-cream and Surace went into anaphylactic shock after one spoonful.

The Surace family say they advised the venue of his allergies in advance of the event and intervened when Robert was served pasta with parmesan cheese and steak with gravy.

Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AA) President Maria Said has called for the introduction of a nationwide allergy management plan and compulsory allergy training for restaurant staff.

“Some food facilities have absolutely no idea what the legislation is,” Said commented. “That puts allergy sufferers in a dangerous situation.”

However, Restaurant and Catering Australia (RCA), the industry’s peak body, says an agreement between RCA and A&AA - arranged through Food Standards Australia New Zealand - is enough to reduce risk. According to RCA Chief Executive John Hart, restaurants are required to know the ingredients and handle customers’ allergy queries under the agreement.

“Our only responsibility is to serve customers the food they order,” Hart said.

Gezim Oxha, the owner of Manor on High, says that employees were retrained, manuals updated and new protocols enforced within one month of the incident.

“Every special dietary meal is now prepared by a dedicated person responsible for these special dishes and the dishes are marked with a coloured flag so a mix-up of dishes cannot occur,” Oxha said.

“We have served over 4 million meals in the 25 years the Manor has been in our control and this was the first time an incident has occurred.”