Peanut allergy sufferer sent into shock by curry after his sister died the same way
A MAN suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating a curry containing peanuts – 10 years after his sister died the same way.
Football coach Steven Obertelli went into anaphylactic shock soon after tasting the chicken tikka masala from a curry house he had been visiting for 20 years.
The 29-year-old had told chefs he was allergic to nuts but they used a new ingredient, unaware it was ground peanuts.
His sister Kate died in July 2003 after eating a curry at a different restaurant. She had also told waiters she suffered from an allergy. Mr Obertelli said: “You shouldn’t have to play Russian roulette when you go to a restaurant. Instances like this come about because takeaways cut corners. But people’s lives are more important.”
He had problems breathing just after tasting the curry from Westhoughton Indian Tandoori in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
You shouldn’t have to play Russian roulette when you go to a restaurant
Mr Obertelli, of Westhoughton, used his EpiPen – an adrenaline injector for anaphylaxis – after he felt his throat close and lips swell. He asked his wife Emma to ring his parents, who took him to hospital. There he suffered a huge rash as the medication wore off.
A coach at Burnley FC, Mr Obertelli asked his wife to freeze the curry so it could be tested.
Bolton Council’s environmental health officers found the curry did contain peanuts, but said takeaway owner Alkus Ali did not know.
Ali, 54, of Oldham, admitted two counts of selling food not of the nature demanded by the purchaser after the incident in May 2013.
Bolton magistrates fined him £500, told him to pay £5,000 costs and to pay the victim £2,500.
