Borough council prosecution secures £200k fine after metal object found in Krispy Kreme doughnut

Melton Borough Council has prosecuted Krispy Kreme UK for three offences of food hygiene and safety after a sharp piece of metal was found in a doughnut.

The council was first contacted about the incident – which involved a piece of metal just over a centimetre in length – in April 2021.

The complainant had originally contacted Krispy Kreme UK after purchasing the product and was told that the object was a piece of foil from the packaging.

However, the complainant disputed this and raised concerns with the Food Standards Agency.

Krispy Kreme UK later admitted that they had received two further complaints of a similar nature and had identified damage to a piece of equipment called a vari-mixer.

Tom Pickwell, a senior solicitor at Melton Borough Council, told Leicester Magistrates Court: "The council would expect a large national company to have appropriate measures in place to ensure the food safety and hygiene throughout the whole process of the manufacturing, including checks on all equipment.

"The fact that the vari-mixer was omitted from the checks does, in the view of the council, fall short of the appropriate levels and a suitable and sufficient safety management system."

Pickwell continued: "Although some systems were in place, they were not sufficient to deal with the full process which led to the incident and Krispy Kreme UK did not know how long this had been happening for."

He added that the incident presented a risk of an adverse effect such as choking or cutting within the mouth.

Krispy Kreme UK pleaded guilty to the charges and accepted responsibility for the foreign object.

Krispy Kreme UK’s representative told the court that the business's consultants who assist with food safety compliance said that metal detection was not required.

In sentencing, the Magistrates said they had taken into account the quality of the equipment, the substantial risk it posed to any customer because of the sharp nature and size of the item and the serious injury that could have happened if it had been swallowed.

The Magistrates fined Krispy Kreme UK £216,000 based on £72,000 for each of the three offences. The local authority was also awarded its full costs of £4,255.30, and Krispy Kreme UK was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £181.

Cllr Joe Orson, Leader of Melton Borough Council, said: "Thanks to the perseverance of the complainant and the steps they took to preserve the evidence we have been able to take action against this company and are very pleased with the outcome of this case.

"I would like to thank the council's legal and environmental health teams who worked with our partners, investigated and brought this successful prosecution. Public safety is our primary concern and we hope that our action sends a strong and clear message that the council, the courts and the public take food safety very seriously. We expect appropriate food safety and hygiene standards to be in place and will not hesitate in taking action when these fall short and put public safety at risk."

The business has since installed metal detectors at the request of Environmental Health Officers.

A spokesperson for Krispy Kreme said: “We apologise unreservedly for this incident and for any upset caused to the affected customer.

“We fully accept the outcome and lessons learnt from this process, and appreciate the support and input from our Primary Authority, Surrey Heath Borough.”

It added: “Krispy Kreme are committed to high standards of health, safety, quality, and hygiene, and we have put in place additional controls that will help prevent an issue like this occurring again.”

As the firm's primary authority, Surrey Heath Borough Council advises Krispy Kreme UK on meeting regulations, including environmental health regulations.

A spokesperson for Surrey Heath Borough Council, said: “Our Environmental Health Team provided advice to Krispy Kreme following this incident and we have reviewed their updated Food Safety Manual to ensure adequate controls are identified and put in place to prevent this happening again.”

Adam Carey