U.K. Restaurant Owner Sentenced to Prison for Peanut Allergy Death

The owner of an Indian restaurant was sentenced to prison on Monday after being found guilty for causing the death of a customer who had a severe peanut allergy.

In 2014, Paul Wilson suffered an allergic reaction to a chicken tikka masala — which had the words “no nuts” written on the lid of the container — that he ordered to go from Indian Garden restaurant in North Yorkshire. On eating the curry, the 38-year-old went into anaphylactic shock and was found dead in his home.

According to the New York Times, restaurateur Mohammed Zaman, 52, received a six year sentence, marking the first time someone has been convicted of manslaughter over the sale of food in Britain.

Prosecutors said Zaman, who owns six restaurants, was nearly £300,000 (about $434,000) in debt, causing him to cut corners by replacing almond powder in his recipes with a cheaper ground nut mixture, prosecutors said. Another customer had also suffered from an allergic reaction three weeks before Wilson’s death. Prosecutors said that like Wilson, she was assured that her meal did not contain nuts.

[New York Times]