Restaurant fined $100,000 after allergic reaction kills diner
A Wollongong restaurant has been fined over $100,000 after the NSW Supreme Court found its food safety management was not as it should be, leading to a customer dying from an allergic reaction to a plate of hommus.
On 27 October, 2017, Nathan Anderson visited Samaras Lebanese and Mediterranean Restaurant with his friends.
Whilst there, restaurant front-of-house manager Alyca Nemer heard them joking about his allergies with his friends. At this point she promised he would be served foods that would not contain the allergens he listed which included peanuts, shellfish, eggs and sesame seeds.
According to Ms Nemer, the restaurant made up an entree plate for Mr Anderson, however his allergies were not discussed with kitchen staff or any other staff member despite informal protocols requiring a hand written allergen sheet to be given to food staff.
Whilst care was taken to exclude sesame seeds, Ms Nemer has admitted to forgetting hommus contained sesame seed paste or tahini.
Not long after taking a couple of bites, Mr Anderson felt something wasn’t right and left to get his epi-pen from his accommodation. He collapsed 150 metres from the restaurant on a footpath.
Friends of Mr Anderson also failed to call an ambulance when he first displayed symptoms and did not alert the restaurant to the initial reaction.
Mr Anderson’s own actions also exacerbated the issue.
"Sadly (the deceased's) own actions (standing up, walking fast in an attempt to secure an epi-pen that he didn't carry), aggravated the reactions' severity," an allergy expert told the court.
Paramedics were unable to save him.
Justice Clifton Hoeben was critical of the restaurant's lack of appropriate systems, which left wait staff "to their own devices" in having to deal with allergen and food safety management.
He did recognise Ms Nemer’s remorse.
"I will never be apologetic enough for the stupid mistake I made that night," Ms Nemer told the court in December 2017.
"Finding out about the passing of Mr Anderson would have to have been one of the worst and definitely the hardest moments of my life."
Samaras Lebanese and Mediterranean Restaurant was fined $105,000 in addition to paying the prosecutor's costs.
Irit Jackson, 18th March 2021
