Wollongong restaurant fined after hummus death

Nathan Anderson, a father of two young children, had been visiting Wollongong for a golf weekend and went for dinner with family and friends at Samara's Lebanese restaurant on Corrimal St on October 27, 2017.

In a Supreme Court decision on Wednesday, Justice Clifton Hoeben found Mr Anderson had been clear about his allergies when ordering. He was assured by the server that a meal without these allergens - peanuts, shellfish, eggs and sesame seeds - could be provided.

But he was served hummus - which has as one of its main ingredients tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds. Neither the tahini nor the hummus was made in-house by Samara's.

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After eating the hummus and feeling unwell Mr Anderson walked down Corrimal St with his cousin but struggled to breathe and collapsed on the footpath.

When paramedics arrived he indicated he had been trying to get his epi-pen, an adrenaline auto-injector, from his accommodation. He was taken to hospital and put on life support but died three days later.

The defendant, Samaras Food Pty Ltd, was prosecuted by the NSW Food Authority for not ensuring food it served was safe, and pleaded guilty.

Justice Hoeben found that since the incident, Samara's had implemented changes to improve its allergy handling procedure, including better training for staff about ingredients, allergens and first aid.

"I am satisfied that there will be no repetition on the defendant's part, of the conduct which led to this prosecution," he said.

He quoted the server at the restaurant showing significant remorse in a statement from December 2017: "I would just like to say that I will never be apologetic enough for the stupid mistake I made that night. I honestly cross-checked every single thing to ensure his allergens were clear but did not think of the sesame oil in the [hummus], I was mainly focused on the sesame seeds. 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. I did everything in my power to accommodate him as I have for all of my previous customers since we opened but unfortunately I made a mistake that I will never forget and will be positively sure not to make again."

The judge rejected a financial hardship claim from Samara's and ordered a fine of $105,000 plus costs of about $198,000.

After Mr Anderson's death a GoFundMe page was set up to help his family and raise awareness of anaphylaxis.

"We are asking everyone we know, to share Nate's story and create awareness about allergies and for some people, how even the smallest amount of food can be the difference between life and death," it said.

"A severe allergic reaction usually occurs within 20 minutes to 2 hours of exposure to the trigger.

"It must be treated as a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment and urgent medical attention."