The parents of teenager Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after eating a Pret a Manger baguette, today urged the Government and food firms to ‘wake up’ to ‘how serious food allergies are’.
Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse spoke out while attending the inquest into the death of Hannah Jacobs, 13, who suffered catastrophic reaction after a single sip of a Costa Coffee hot chocolate.
The couple who founded The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation said they were ‘devastated’ to learn of the case and added: ‘How many more children must die before we start taking food allergy seriously?’
On the first day of the inquest at East London Coroner’s Court, Hannah’s mother, Abimbola Duyile, recalled the moments that led to the tragedy.
She had warned staff about her daughter’s allergies, she said, apologising to the barista for ‘being a pain’ after requesting the milk steamer was cleaned to ensure traces of cow’s milk were eliminated.
Hannah Jacobs, 13, of Barking, East London, died following a suspected anaphylactic reaction
Yet Costa employee Ana Sanz, who was an assistant manager at Costa franchise in Barking at the time of Hannah’s death but was not working until later that day, admitted to the court that she had used Google Translate to help her complete allergy training, as her first language is Spanish
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, was on a dream trip to Nice with her best friend and her father when she suffered a severe reaction to sesame seeds baked into an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she bought at Heathrow
Yet Costa employee Ana Sanz, who was an assistant manager at Costa franchise in Barking at the time of Hannah’s death but was not working until later that day, admitted to the court that she had used Google Translate to help her complete allergy training, as her first language is Spanish.
She suggested that other employees she worked with may have also done the same.
Roughly 10 minutes after being served the drink in February last year, Hannah took her first sip and almost immediately began vomiting, according to her mother’s statement.
Ms Duyile then rushed her daughter across the road to a pharmacy, where she asked for antihistamines which had previously worked to relieve her allergic symptoms.
However, Hannah complained that her chest was becoming ‘tight and painful’ and she was struggling to breathe.
A pharmacist administered an auto-injector filled with adrenaline (also known as Epipen), but it contained half the dose of medication recommended for teenagers and adults.
Ms Duyile said her ‘anger’ at the barista who served her daughter the drink soon turned to ‘horror’, as Hannah lost consciousness.
A customer in the pharmacist called for an ambulance, and paramedics arrived shortly, immediately beginning CPR on the schoolgirl.
Despite efforts to resuscitate her at Newham hospital, Hannah died a few minutes past 1pm on 8th February 2023.
Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse said: ‘We are devastated to be attending yet another inquest into the death of a child from a suspected food allergy.
‘Over the last year we have been supporting Hannah’s family – helping them to negotiate the complex and often bewildering process when a child suddenly dies, and when they are consumed by grief.
‘We must wait to see what comes out of the inquest over the next few days.
‘However, this case, like our daughter Natasha’s, and sadly so many others, underlines just how serious food allergies can be.
‘They are not a lifestyle choice but a serious, unpredictable medical condition that can be potentially fatal.
‘We all – individuals, companies and the Government – need to wake up to this fact and do everything we can to keep people with food allergies safe.
‘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. How many more children must die before we start taking food allergy seriously.’
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, was on a dream trip to Nice with her best friend and her father when she suffered a severe reaction to sesame seeds baked into an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she bought at Heathrow.
At the time shops did not have to list allergens on foods that had been freshly made on the premises.
‘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. How many more children must die before we start taking food allergy seriously,’ sat Natasha’s parents.
Nadim, pictured, and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse said: ‘We are devastated to be attending yet another inquest into the death of a child from a suspected food allergy.’
Following her tragic death in 2016, Natasha’s family successfully lobbied for ‘Natasha’s Law’, which makes allergy information a requirement for food made on site.
Ms Duyile said her daughter Hannah had suffered with extremely severe allergies since being diagnosed as a toddler, which led to her avoiding meat, eggs, fish and wheat following previous mild allergic reactions and tests.
Ms Duyile said Hannah had enjoyed a soya hot chocolate at Costa on several occasions before, having been convinced by her mother to try a hot drink there.
In a statement read to the court, the bereaved mother described her daughter, saying: ‘Hannah Jacobs was my daughter. Hannah loved life.
‘She was caring, affectionate, funny, outspoken and energetic.
She was 13 when she died – an age in which we all change so quickly. I have never known the adult Hannah.
‘Hannah had a strong sense of right and wrong. I always said she would have been a great lawyer.
She had never suffered a serious allergic reaction that required her to go to hospital or [to have an injection].
‘Hannah understood her allergies were life threatening. I will always remember her as a happy child so full of happiness and promise.
I will never know the woman that Hannah would have eventually become.’
On the morning of February 8, Hannah had not gone to school because she had a dentist appointment at 11am.
Her mother told the inquest she had asked her daughter if she wanted to get a drink at Costa prior to her appointment.
‘Hannah had been to the Costa Coffee shop [in Barking] several times before, and always had her usual hot chocolate,’ Ms Duyile said.
‘I said to the barista that we would both like a soya hot chocolate and explained that Hannah would like marshmallows.
‘I explained that Hannah is severely allergic to cows milk and requested a clean jug and frother. I said, ‘I’m sorry to be a pain but my child has severe allergies’.
‘We clearly stated to the woman taking the order that soya milk should be used as my daughter is intolerant to lactose.’
The mother told the inquest her daughter had even lightly reprimanded her for being so ‘strict’ with staff.
But a Costa employee at the branch later took the stand and confirmed that an allergy book is supposed to be shown to customers who state they have an allergy.
The pair quickly left the Costa shop and went to the dentist, as they were late for the 11am appointment.
Following her tragic death in 2016, Natasha’s parents successfully lobbied for ‘Natasha’s Law’, which makes allergy information a requirement for food made on site
Her mother explained that whilst in the waiting room: ‘Hannah took her first sip and abruptly got up and went to the toilet.
‘She called me [from the toilet] and shouted: ‘That is not soya milk’. She had an immediate reaction to that drink. Hannah kept throwing up. It was everywhere in the toilet and the dentist reception [area].’
Ms Duyile told the dentist that Hannah was having an allergic reaction and needed to go to the pharmacy – but was not offered an EpiPen by the dentist, who the court heard may have had one on site.
The mother and daughter rushed to a pharmacy they knew very near to the dentist, where Assistant Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said CCTV showed Hannah collapsed ‘almost immediately’ after entering.
She was given antihistamine tablets and a pharmacist later administered adrenaline using an EpiPen whilst another customer called an ambulance.
Hannah was pronounced dead at Newham General Hospital in East London (file picture)
Ambulance crews soon arrived after being called and attempted to resuscitate Hannah, who was soon rushed to Newham General Hospital shortly before 11.30am, where attempts to resuscitate her continued.
But doctors emerged close to midday and told a devastated Ms Duyile they had decided to stop their attempts to resuscitate her daughter, because it was ‘clear’ it wasn’t working.
Dr Radcliffe said: ‘Sadly, there was nothing more they could do. She was gone. [Doctors] told you she had passed away.’
The inquest continues.