Jacobs familyA “vivacious, caring and affectionate” girl with a severe dairy allergy died after drinking a Costa Coffee hot chocolate made with cows’ milk due to a “failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies”, a coroner has ruled.
Hannah Jacobs, 13, of Barking, east London, died within hours of sipping the drink bought by her mother on 8 February 2023.
Assistant coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe also found there had been “failure of communication” between the coffee shop staff and Hannah’s mother Abimbola Duyile.
After the inquest, Ms Duyile accused the food industry of treating allergy training as a “tick box exercise”, adding that the “consequence… is that my daughter is no longer here”.
Costa Coffee said: “The loss of Hannah is a tragedy, and our heartfelt thoughts remain with her family and friends.”
Jacobs familyIn a statement, Ms Duyile said: “My beautiful Hannah only had 13 years on this earth when she should have had many, many more.
“Hannah loved life. She was a vivacious, caring, affectionate, outspoken and energetic child with a strong sense of right and wrong.”
Ms Duyile continued: “Having heard all the evidence over the last week it is clear to me that although the food service industry and medical professionals are required to have allergy training, this training is really not taken seriously enough.
“Better awareness is needed in these industries and across society of the symptoms of anaphylaxis.”
She added: “I have always been extremely diligent in managing Hannah’s allergies and she had never suffered a serious allergic reaction prior to this incident.”
East London Coroner’s Court heard that on the day of her death neither Hannah or her mother were carrying an epi-pen that had been prescribed.
They had visited the Costa Coffee branch in Station Parade, Barking, owned and operated by a franchisee, to buy two soya hot chocolates before Hannah attended the dentist.
Barista Urmi Akter previously said she took the order from Ms Duyile and said she had repeated the mother’s request that a jug be washed out, and pointed out hot chocolate is made from milk.
The inquest also heard at the time of Hannah’s death, allergen training for new Costa staff involved a series of online modules that could be accessed at home and a quiz that trainees had to pass.
A post-mortem examination found Hannah died after suffering from a hypersensitive anaphylactic reaction triggered by an ingredient in her hot chocolate that caused an allergic response.
Dr Radcliffe said: “The root cause of this death is a failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies combined with a failure of communication between the mother and the barista.”
Jacobs familyThe parents of a 15-year-old girl who died following a severe allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette containing sesame have called for “urgent” government action to “improve understanding” of allergies across schools, businesses and society generally.
Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, co-founders of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, a food allergy charity, said: “We need urgent government action to improve understanding within schools, businesses and society that food allergies can be a serious, unpredictable health condition, not a lifestyle choice, and ensure people with allergies have access to joined up and timely NHS allergy care.
“Today, along with Hannah’s grief-stricken mum Abi and on behalf of other parents who have lost children to food allergies, we once again urge the government to appoint an allergy tsar – a national champion for the one in three people who live not just with food allergies, but all types of allergic disease including asthma and eczema.”
A Costa Coffee spokesperson said: “Understanding how this awful situation occurred is in the interest of everyone – our franchise partners, our customers, our team members, and the communities of which we are a part.
“We have listened to everything the coroner has said this week and will carefully consider her comments together with any report she may issue and respond appropriately.”
