Inquest into student's death heard staff were ‘not trained' about allergens

In an inquest looking into the death of 18-year-old Shahida Shahid has heard that the barman who took the student's order "didn't think he had been trained about allergens."

Shahid who had allergies to dairy, nuts and shellfish, died after eating a chicken burger, which had been marinated in buttermilk, at Almost Famous in Manchester on 9 January 2015.

Reiss Balfour, the barman who took her order, told police under caution that he asked head chef Liam Tse for advice about Shahid's allergies.

Tse said she shouldn't have the Famous sauce or coleslaw.

As reported by the Manchester Evening News, the jury heard that Balfour "only found out later that the chicken was marinated in buttermilk."

In-store trainer Laura Muttock told the jury today that she was also unaware the burger was marinated in buttermilk.

She identified 14 allergens restaurants had to be aware of and told the inquest Almost Famous documented them in an ‘allergy book', which was shown to customers if required.

However, Balfour didn't offer to show the book to Shahid and "didn't think he had been trained about allergens" despite attending a staff meeting where the book was shown.

Marie Carter, a director of the Beautiful Drinks Company which owns Almost Famous, attended the inquest today. She said the restaurant offers dairy-free and allergy-free meals, but admitted Shahid was not offered any of these options.

Joseph Egan, specialist environmental health officer at Manchester City Council told the jury that the lack of information on the menu regarding allergens was not a concern to him, but the allergy book was as it contained "anomalies" and was "incomplete".

The inquest continues tomorrow.

Chef denies saying a ‘terrible mistake' led to student's fatal allergic reaction >>

18-year-old died after suffering an allergic reaction despite checking ingredients, inquest hears >>

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