Calls to appoint Allergy Tsar after Costa drink death

The parents of a girl who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger baguette have called on the government to act and stop more “preventable” deaths.

Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, whose 15-year-old daughter had a reaction to sesame in 2016, said they had previously been told ministers were too “busy” to meet with them.

They were speaking following the inquest into the death of 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs, who had a severe dairy allergy and died a few hours after sipping a Costa Coffee drink made with milk.

The inquest found there had been a “failure of communication” between the coffee shop staff in Barking, east London, and Hannah’s mother, who had asked for the drink to be made with soy milk.

The court heard written evidence from Costa employees, one of whom said they had failed the quiz 20 times before passing.

Another said their husband had accompanied them to work on their first day to help translate for them, and that they used Google Translate to help them when reading English.

The Ednan-Laperouses said: “It has been heartbreaking to hear over the course of the last few days the catalogue of errors and missed opportunities which resulted in the death of schoolgirl Hannah Jacobs from a food allergy.

“This is yet another death from food allergy that should never have happened.”

They have joined with Hannah’s mother Abi to call for the government to appoint an Allergy Tsar to act as a “national champion” for the one in three people who live with food allergies and allergic diseases such as asthma and eczema.

The Ednan-Laperouses said: “We have written to ministers asking them to meet with us to discuss the critical issue of allergy-related deaths and the urgent need for an Allergy Tsar, and were disappointed to be told they were too busy.

“Today, in the light of Hannah’s case and the pressing need for action, we have written to ministers again asking for an urgent meeting and are hoping that they will understand the time critical seriousness of this situation and reply with a more positive response.

“How many more children must die before we start taking food allergy seriously?”

Following Natasha’s death, her parents set up the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and campaigned for the introduction of Natasha’s Law.

This came into force in 2021 and requires food outlets that package products onsite to provide a full list of ingredients on the label, with 14 allergens, including nuts and milk, highlighted.

However, spot checks have discovered many businesses in breach of the labelling law.

In an interview published in The Times over the weekend, Ednan said the organisation knew of 50 families across the UK whose children had died from food allergies.

He said common themes in the cases included a lack of understanding among staff about allergies and how serious they can be, or a human error meaning that they were given the wrong food product.