Costa Coffee hot chocolate death: Allergy process failure blamed

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.”

The 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.”