AN INDIAN restaurant has admitted serving a dish which was advertised as containing lamb but tests showed was actually beef.
Cardamom Indian Cuisine, based on Swan Street in Alcester, received a two year conditional discharge after pleading guilty to one offence under section 14 of the Food Safety Act 1990 after appearing at Nuneaton Magistrates’ Court recently.
The restaurant was caught by a testing operation carried out by Warwickshire Trading Standards which involved analysing a range of take-away foods for ingredients and colourings.
The meal ordered was a lamb bhuna which when tested was found to be 99 per cent beef.
Defending, Zahid Iqbal of Z Law Solicitors, said the suppliers had delivered the wrong meat and the chef then made an error in failing to correctly identify it was beef and not lamb.
He added a system had been put in place to stop a repeat of the incident.
Coun Les Caborn, responsible for community safety on Warwickshire County Council, said: “It is important restaurants and take-aways are not substituting cheaper meats, beef or chicken for example, for more expensive ones such as lamb.
“Not only is there a risk that consumers are paying expensive prices for cheaper meats, but there can be food safety implications as well for people with allergies to certain foods.”
Coun Richard Chattaway, chair of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee, added: “Consumers want to know that the food they are eating is what it claims to be and Trading Standards has a role to play in ensuring that food is accurately and honesty described.”
