Shocking truth about curries that can kill

IT WAS meant to be just another relaxing night out for a group of medical students: a curry and a few drinks with friends following the stresses and strains of the week.

But one of the aspiring young doctors herself became a patient, and almost died within seconds of tasting her favourite curry dish at an Aberdeen restaurant. A few weeks later, another young female medical student collapsed and needed urgent medical attention after eating a curry elsewhere in the city.

Investigators have pinpointed the cause of the near-fatal incidents as the increasing practice among Indian restaurants of using peanut flour rather than almond paste in their recipes.

Peanut flour is a cheap and quick alternative method for thickening dishes. But it is also likely to trigger a potentially fatal reaction in nut allergy sufferers.

Even more disturbing are claims that some suppliers to Indian restaurants are mixing peanut and almond flour to save money before passing the result off as the more expensive product.

Last night the Food Standards Agency in Scotland said it was taking steps to improve staff training in restaurants so that allergy risks could be identified and customers warned.

Scotland on Sunday revealed last week that new laws will be introduced later this year forcing all food producers to list even tiny amounts of the 20 ingredients most likely to trigger an allergic reaction, including nuts, milk and egg.

Dozens of people are killed each year in the UK as a result of eating foods to which they are allergic. They suffer anaphylactic shock, which prevents them breathing.

Hazel Gowland, of the Anaphylaxis Campaign, said a growing number of Indian restaurants were using peanut flour but not alerting their customers.

Gowland said: "On two separate occasions medical students from Aberdeen ordered a curry that they had eaten before without any problems, but within minutes of eating the food they fell ill because there were peanut traces in the dishes.

"Both girls were hospitalised. It is a very serious condition and there needs to be much more of an awareness about this."

Gowland said she had been liaising with the Food Standards Agency Scotland about introducing compulsory training for Indian restaurant staff about the preparation of food and allergy sufferers.

She also wants to see more comprehensive labelling of ingredients in menus, so people know exactly what they are eating.

"For allergy sufferers we are talking about a life or death situation here and it’s vital that this becomes more widely recognised."

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said

it was about to start consulting restaurants about introducing tighter controls on labelling ingredients in foods and educating staff about the dangers of people suffering from allergies.

He said: "There will soon be legislation in place which address these problems."

Owner of the Blue Moon Indian restaurant in Aberdeen, Arzu Miah, said the problem was mainly with the suppliers.

Miah, whose restaurant was not involved in either nut allergy case, said: "They have been mixing almond powder with peanut flour to pad it out so they can make more profit."

He said that a 10kg box of almond powder costs about 80 compared with peanut flour which was priced at around 30, adding: "There have been instances where they have been mixing the two powders then selling it as pure almond powder."

He said Environmental Health officers had recently visited all Indian restaurants, asking if they could take samples of their almond powder to check if it was pure or not.

David Singh, owner of The New Maharajah in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street, said the restaurant had now started highlighting all dishes which contained any nuts or nut traces.

"Peanut flour is a cheaper alternative to almond or cashew nut powder and I know that many take-away outlets are now using it. However, we don’t use it at all. We are well aware of the dangers of allergies and make sure all our staff know exactly what goes into each dish and how it is prepared."

Cases of shock caused by food allergies have soared by 300% over the past decade and there are around 30 deaths every year. Some people are allergic to just one type of nut. Other foods which can trigger allergies include shellfish, soybeans, celery, mustard and eggs.

Currently if ingredients make up less than a quarter of the product, the manufacturer does not have to list them directly - a loophole which critics argue allows firms to "hide" potentially dangerous ingredients.

NHS figures reveal hospital admissions for children aged five to 15 suffering from anaphylaxis rose from 10 per million in 1990 to 40 per million in 2000.

Some experts believe children now have weaker immune systems because of greater exposure to pesticides and chemicals.

Sufferer Johanna Lapsley, 26, can never let down her guard when it comes to choosing food, and knows that careless manufacturers or restaurateurs could kill her.

Lapsley, who lives in Edinburgh, was recently hospitalised by a simple biscuit.

"A friend had bought me a biscuit from a cafe and checked with the owner that it did not contain nuts. However, after moments of taking a bite I started to feel sick and then my lips started to swell up."

After she was sick, her throat started to swell up and she was taken to Falkirk Royal Infirmary. She took two weeks to recover from the attack.

Lapsley added: "I try to lead as normal life as possible but obviously I have to be very careful about checking the ingredients of what I eat and I expect restaurants and cafes to by vigilant about it too. It’s a serious issue - it’s potentially a life or death one."