Court find restaurant owner guilty

In January 2025, Southwark Council successfully prosecuted the owners of the Pop Inn Café

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Court find restaurant owner guilty

Prosecution of Restaurant Owner

In January 2025, Southwark Council successfully prosecuted the owners of the Pop Inn Café in Bermondsey following the death of 12-year-old Mia-Shay from London, who suffered a fatal nut allergy reaction.

While tragic events like this are rare, they highlight the critical risks posed to restaurants by poor communication and inadequate training on allergy management.

Mia-Shay’s death could have been easily avoided. As a result, the café owner was prosecuted, fined £18,000, and sentenced to community service.

Southwark Council’s food safety team launched an investigation, concluding that hazelnuts and almonds were present in the milkshake served to Mia-Shay, despite her being allergic to tree nuts.

Michelle Victor, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, which represented Mia-Shay’s family, emphasised the importance of allergy-safe environments for children.

"We are continuing to support Mia-Shay’s family and, while no outcome will ever make up for the loss they have suffered, this criminal prosecution is an important part of their fight to achieve justice for all those suffering with food allergies.

"Mia-Shay and all other children with allergies should be able to feel safe knowing that businesses serving food and drink adhere to food safety legislation put in place to protect their lives.

"But unfortunately, far too often we see that this doesn’t happen, which can have tragic consequences such as in this case."

Mr Yucel pleaded guilty to six criminal charges, including failing to make allergen advice available or visible to consumers, neglecting to manage allergen contamination during food preparation, and serving food that contained an allergenic ingredient that should not have been present.

Cllr Natasha Ennin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods at Southwark Council, said:

"What happened to Mia-Shay is a tragedy, and my heart goes out to her family and the people who loved her.

"This might have been avoided if the operator of the café had followed simple food safety rules, and our officers will continue to work with local businesses to help ensure these are followed by all food outlets in Southwark."

One of the key findings—“not making allergen advice available or visible to consumers”—presents a significant risk to restaurants due to communication failures. However, it is also a highly cost-effective issue to address.

Allergy Menu provides an app that allows customers to filter live menus for allergen information at their convenience. The app can also be installed on tablets for staff use, reducing the likelihood of communication errors. Additionally, it offers a portal for managing allergen data, including ingredient photos, all in one central location.

Mitigating communication risks is essential for restaurants, pubs, and hotels.

Last month, 21% of exclusion searches on the Allergy Menu platform were for peanut allergens, while 20% were for tree nuts. Gluten-free searches were the highest at 54%, followed by milk allergies at 19%.

Figures from https://allergymenu.app.

Implementing such an app can help businesses reduce risks and more easily manage internal allergen information, thereby preventing prosecution.



Written on 2025-01-27 by Juliet Moran



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