A former takeaway boss will have to pay more than £12,000 after serving up a kebab which could have caused a severe allergic reaction.

Trading Standard officials visited Bosphorus in Great Dunmow High Street in March last year when an officer ordered a soya-free doner kebab.

The meat was sent away for testing and analysis revealed it contained a potentially harmful level of soya for someone with an allergy.

Two months later, officials returned to the premises to give advice about allergens to company bosses and another undercover officer came back in August and ordered another soya-free kebab.

When a regular kebab was served up, the officer introduced themselves and asked to see the ingredients listed in the meat. The ingredients list stated it did include soya.

Mehmet Tek, of Bridport Way, Braintree, who ran the company behind the shop at the time of the incident admitted failing to comply with food safety provision, selling food not of the quality demanded by the purchaser and recklessly engaging in commercial practice on behalf of himself and his company Tekselen Ltd when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.

The offending dish contained 1.9gs of soya per 100gs of meat.

Kate Armstrong-Mason, mitigating on behalf of Tek, told the court the business is a pillar of the community.

She said: “This is a small, family run business which has been going for 20 years.

“It was unfortunate that particular person who served the kebab on the day the inspectors were there was on trial for three or four days purely to cut the meat.

“The man who served the kebab meat should not have done so and his English was not very good.”

The court heard Tek, 53, had now handed on the day-to-day running of the firm to a family member and had changed his policy to only take on people who spoke good English.

After initial visits from officers, staff were given training about the possible effects of allergens and signs were posted up in the store advertising what ingredients dishes contained.

Menus were also re-printed with warnings on.

Magistrates handed the company a £10,000 fine, costs of £1,632 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Tek was personally fined £638 and will also have to pay a £63 surcharge.