When will allergies be taken seriously by cafés and restaurants?
21 August 2024, 11:38
The Costa allergy tragedy, resulting in the death of a 13-year-old girl, should be a wake-up call to all hospitality venues.
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I’ve had allergies ever since I can remember - I couldn’t eat eggs growing up and now I’m allergic to nuts and sesame seeds.
My discovery of these allergies came in childhood. On what seemed like an ordinary evening, I ate a Brazil nut toffee. Hours later, I was in the hospital, where doctors confirmed my condition.
It was scary to learn that consuming the wrong food could be fatal.
Nowadays I have to carry an epipen everywhere I go. If I ever forget to bring it to dinner, my family and friends get pretty angry at me - they know my life is at risk if I eat something I shouldn’t.
While my allergy is life-threatening, I’m able to get on with my life. I won’t react if I am near nuts - I’m only affected if I eat them. But not everyone is so lucky.
Hannah Jacobs had a far more serious medical condition than me. She was the 13-year-old girl who died after having a few sips of a Costa Coffee hot chocolate.
Hannah’s mother, Abimbola, ordered two drinks made with soya milk, telling staff of her daughter’s severe dairy allergies. The café failed to follow allergy processes and served her cow’s milk.
Stories like Hannah’s terrify me - children shouldn’t be dying because a barista made such a foolish mistake.
The most high-profile allergy death in recent years is 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse. She died after eating a Pret a Manger sandwich, which failed to list sesame seeds as an ingredient.
Her parents, Nadim and Tanya, attended Hannah’s inquest and made a powerful statement. "We all need to do everything we can to keep people with food allergies safe."
They also stressed that "allergy training needs to be strengthened so that it is not simply a tick-box exercise, but rather a set of protocols that keep people with food allergies safe from harm."
The campaigning parents are - as usual - completely correct.
Just this week, I visited a central London café where I was asked if I had any allergies. When I informed the barista, he took meticulous care in preparing my food. He mentioned that the Costa incident had prompted his workplace to enforce stricter allergy protocols.
This is a positive step - finally, a hospitality venue that takes these matters as seriously as they should.
I hope it’s not a short-term reaction but a long-term solution to make people with allergies feel safe.
I’ve worked in hospitality - I know it’s a pain to make different arrangements for people with specific requirements, but the safety and health of customers must always be the top priority.
As Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse have rightly asked: How many more children must die before we start taking food allergies seriously?
It’s time for the food and drink industry to tackle this issue head-on to prevent another young life from being tragically cut short.
