Restaurant fined after selling 'dairy free' burgers made with milk

A Lancashire restaurant and its director have been hit with penalties totalling nearly £12,000 after serving burgers advertised as dairy-free that actually contained milk.

Coco's Soul Food in Preston, operated by Coconut (NW) Ltd, was caught out by Lancashire County Council trading standards officers on two occasions.

Ebrahim Paruk, the 51-year-old director, appeared at Lancaster Magistrates' Court on June 9 having previously admitted food safety offences.

District Judge Thompson ordered the company to pay a £6,500 fine, a £2,600 victim surcharge and court costs of £1,800.81.

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Paruk himself received a £650 fine along with a £260 victim surcharge.

The breaches occurred in November 2023 and again in October 2024, despite the business receiving a formal warning between incidents.

The case originated when an undercover trading standards buyer visited the establishment in November 2023, having informed staff of a milk allergy before ordering.

Laboratory analysis subsequently revealed the burger served contained milk protein at levels considered potentially dangerous to allergy sufferers.

This discovery prompted an investigation by Lancashire County Council's trading standards team.

However, three months after the initial incident, officials issued the restaurant with a formal warning and provided comprehensive guidance on managing allergen controls.

The business was given clear instructions on the procedures required to protect customers with food allergies.

However, these measures proved insufficient to prevent a repeat occurrence, with officers returning to monitor compliance the following year.

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When trading standards officers conducted a follow-up visit in October 2024, they discovered the same problem had recurred.

On this occasion, Paruk himself served the meals to the undercover buyers and personally assured them the food was free from dairy.

Testing carried out afterwards once again detected milk protein in the dishes. The director had directly confirmed to customers that what they were eating contained no dairy ingredients, despite this proving to be false.

This second breach came less than a year after the restaurant had received its official warning and detailed allergen guidance.

The repeat offence demonstrated that the business had failed to implement adequate safeguards despite being made fully aware of the risks and requirements following the first incident.

Trading standards investigators determined that the contamination stemmed from a decision to replace standard burger buns with brioche versions.

The switch in ingredients had not been accompanied by appropriate allergen assessments or updates to the restaurant's food safety information.

Officers concluded that inadequate checking procedures and poor allergen management systems were responsible for the failures.

Brioche traditionally contains milk and butter as key ingredients, making it unsuitable for customers with dairy allergies.

Despite having received explicit guidance on proper controls following the first incident, the business had not established robust systems to identify when ingredient changes might introduce new allergen risks.

Councillor Joshua Roberts, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for rural affairs, environment and communities said: "People with food allergies rely on businesses to provide accurate information and take proper care when preparing food.

"In this case, a simple change in ingredients led to unsafe food being served, despite a previous warning. Failure to keep allergen information up to date and ensuring staff understand the risks could put customers at risk, and even potentially kill someone with a dairy allergy."

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