Wadebridge baker fined after plastic found inside wedding cake

One of the brides had been hospitalised with anaphylaxis in the past. So when the couple ordered their wedding cake, the most important thing about it was a promise that it would be nut free.

That promise has now ended up in front of magistrates, and a Wadebridge baker has been ordered to pay just under £4,000 in fines and costs.

Faye Selway, of the Natural Cake Company, pleaded guilty at Bodmin Magistrates Court to four charges under the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013. The case was brought by Cornwall Council.

The cake that never reached the guests

The cake was supplied for a wedding in April this year. When it was delivered to the venue on the day, it was the wrong colour and the icing had imperfections.

Then kitchen staff cut into it to serve the guests, and found pieces of plastic between the icing layers.

The cake was never served. Staff were worried more plastic could be hidden inside it and pose a risk to health.

A promise of a nut free studio

The customer asked for a refund. When Faye Selway refused, they contacted Cornwall Council.

The council’s investigation found the customer had been given written and verbal assurances that the cake would be nut free and made in a completely nut free environment at the baker’s cake studio. That mattered more than anything else, because one of the brides has a severe nut allergy.

But the cake had not been made in the studio. It had been made in a domestic kitchen, which could not have been the nut free environment the couple were relying on.

The court heard Faye Selway had moved out of the cake studio nine months before she took the order, knowing it would not be made in a dedicated studio.

Never registered as a food business

Neither the studio nor the domestic kitchen had been registered with Cornwall Council as a food business, which is a legal requirement. That meant neither had been through any food safety checks, which would have included allergen control and an assessment of allergen claims.

The council had told Faye Selway in writing, when she was considering setting up the studio, that she would need to register if she went ahead. So she was fully aware of the requirement.

According to the council, if the plastic had not been found and the cake had been served at the wedding, the possible nut contamination could have had catastrophic results.

What the magistrates decided

In line with sentencing guidelines, magistrates fined Faye Selway £896 and ordered her to pay the council’s costs of £3,067. That comes to £3,963 in total.

What the council said

Nick Kelly, Group Leader for Food Safety, Health and Safety and Port Health, said: “The legislation around allergens in food are there to ensure consumers have accurate advice to enable them to make an informed decision in respect of the foods they consume. In this case, the misleading information could have had life threatening consequences.

“Where businesses fail to meet their legal obligations and put people at risk, the Council will not hesitate to take formal enforcement action.”

Councillor Thalia Marrington, cabinet member for Community Safety and Public Protection at Cornwall Council, said the case showed how important it is for businesses to give accurate information about the food they sell.

“Making misleading claims is totally unacceptable and in instances like this can be life threatening to the consumer,” she said. “When businesses blatantly disregard their legal obligations and put their customers at risk, we have no choice but to take action.”