THE boss of a Coventry curry house has been fined after beef instead of lamb balti was served up – to undercover trading standards officers.
Magistrates heard the officers ordered lamb balti and revealed their identities only after paying for the incorrect meals.
Mohammed Uddin, manager of the New Bengal Spice Restaurant in Corporation Street, city centre, claimed he thought the meat was mutton rather than lamb.
But DNA testing revealed no traces of either mutton or lamb – just beef.
Mr Uddin, aged 52, of Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry, was fined by city magistrates £256 and ordered to pay £706 in costs and a £30 victim charge.
The limited company that ran the restaurant, New Bengal Spice (Coventry) Ltd, was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a £170 victim surcharge.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to offences under the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
Speaking after the hearing, Allan Harwood, trading standards and consumer protection manager, said: “Customers have a right to be confident that the food they buy is as described.
“The substitution of meat products is entirely unacceptable and unfair to those businesses that play by the rules.
“It is often surprising that customers cannot tell the difference, however, in a curry they may rely more on texture than taste.
“Trading Standards play a critical role in safeguarding the integrity of the food chain and will continue to take action to ensure that this is not undermined.”
Trading standards say anyone who is worried about the accuracy of food descriptions can contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040 506.
