A TAKEAWAY owner has been jailed for playing 'Russian roulette' with customers lives, a judge has said.

Mohammed Hadi showed 'blatant and flagrant' disregard for food safety after serving one customer a beef korma containing peanuts despite repeated requests for a nut-free meal.

The 39-year-old's lies resulted in the woman suffering anaphylactic shock after eating a takeaway from the Goa Lounge in Redcar, last August.

Judge Peter Armstrong told the defendant: "You were playing in effect Russian roulette with customers, issuing them food which you had no idea whether it was peanut-free or not.

"It's only by good fortune that the customer in this case wasn't killed."

Teesside Crown Court heard that his co-accused Mohammed Arif, 51, played a lesser role in the incident despite being a part owner in the now closed down business.

The judge said the customer had been lied to by Hadi when she placed her order – something that could have proved fatal.

He added: "When she had her beef korma she went into anaphylactic shock and ended up in hospital. Fortunately she survived. Others who in other cases have undergone the experience have not been so fortunate.

"You've blatantly or flagrantly lied, in my view, to the customers, or if it wasn't a deliberate lie it was a flagrant disregard for the risk."

The court heard the customer made a complaint to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's environmental health team who went to the takeaway to carry out a test purchase.

The officer made repeated requests to be served a nut-free beef korma and as soon as he was handed his food, he told the staff who he was and warned them that it was going to be taken away and analysed.

Results showed that the dish contained potentially fatal levels of nut protein.

When confronted with the findings, Hadi told investigators it was the customer's 'responsibility' to check for allergens.

In mitigation, James Howard said Hadi was 'mortified' by what had happened and decided to close the business.

Kelleigh Lodge, representing Arif, said her client was now unemployed following the closure of the business and was now ashamed of the impact the case was having on his family.

Hadi, of Scarborough Road, Thornaby, was jailed for six months after admitting two breaches of food safety regulations in relation to serving and handling of allergens.

Arif, of Abingdon Road, Middlesbrough, was also given a six month sentence suspended for two years with a three-month curfew between 9pm and 7am.

Speaking after the hearing, a spokesperson for Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council said: “This is the first case involving food allergens taken by the Council. It highlights how important it is that food business operators must have good knowledge of what the food they sell contains and they must understand the risks around cross-contamination within their business.

“Since this incident was brought to the attention of Environmental Health Officers, we have provided all relevant food businesses within the borough with allergen information, links to free online training, and examples of procedures, and we will continue to highlight the importance of allergen awareness and control during visits.

“The health of the public is always of paramount importance and anyone who sells food that poses a health risk to the public will be dealt with effectively. Our officers will continue to do all they can to protect public health when investigating complaints and inspecting food premises and will crack down on operators that fail to keep their businesses in order.”