To avoid higher costs, a curry house in Rubery, Birmingham, swapped lamb with beef and has been slapped with multiple compensations. Masala Bite Ltd. has been hit with fines and costs totalling thousands of pounds after its bosses admitted that it was intentional and that they did in a bid to save cash, the consumer watchdogs said.
Worcestershire Trading Standards had their undercover officers at work- they bought a lamb madras on two separate occasions from the New Road restaurant, Redditch Magistrates Court heard.
The samples were handed over to laboratory experts who tested it and discovered
that neither of the curries contained any lamb, they just had beef- a meat that cannot be consumed by Hindus owing to their religious beliefs.
The eatery owners confessed that they had limited finances and as a result, had used the cheaper meat, said Coun Mark Bullivant, chairman of Worcestershire Regulatory Services. Further, he stated, “The menus had not been amended for the same reason although staff had been told to advise customers of the use of beef instead of lamb – although no such advice was given to trading standards officers during their two visits. The recent Elliott review highlights the need to take a robust and zero tolerance approach to food fraud. Consumers need confidence in local food businesses”.
Masala Bite Ltd. now is liable to pay £3,489 in fines, costs and a victim surcharge. The review calls for a food crime unit with full police powers and expertise to be set up as a priority. This followed after food safety bosses discovered horsemeat in beefburgers made in a factory in Small Heath in March last year.
