Mother of girl who died after Costa drink speaks out about allergen training

The mother of a 13-year-old girl who died after having a severe reaction to a Costa hot chocolate has said allergen safety training should not be treated as a “tick-box exercise”, after a coroner concluded she died following staff’s “failure to follow processes”.

Hannah Jacobs, who had been allergic to dairy products, died within hours of taking one sip of the drink on February 8 2023, East London Coroner’s Court was told.

The schoolgirl, from Barking, east London, was also allergic to fish and eggs and suffered an “immediate reaction” after a just one sip of the hot chocolate, which was supposed to be made with soya milk, the inquest heard.

On Friday, the inquest concluded that Hannah had died after a “failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies”, and a “failure of communication” between the coffee shop staff and Hannah’s mother, Abimbola Duyile.

A member of Ms Duyile’s legal team read a statement outside East London coroner’s court on her behalf, saying: “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, the training is really not taken seriously enough.

“Better awareness is really needed in these industries and across society of the symptoms of anaphylaxis.

“Allowing people who serve food and drinks to retake an allergy training test for 20 times is not acceptable.

“Treating allergy training as a tick-box exercise is not acceptable, being a medical professional and not reacting quickly to even a possible anaphylactic reaction is not acceptable, and the consequence of all of this is that my daughter is no longer here.”

The inquest previously heard that, 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.

The court heard written evidence from Costa employees, one of whom said they had failed the quiz 20 times before passing, and another who said their husband had accompanied them to work on their first day to help translate for them, and that they used Google Translate to help them when reading English.

Faton Abrashi, a regional operations manager for Costa Coffee stores in London, whose responsibilities include allergy procedures for staff, told the inquest on Thursday that Costa baristas were only permitted to serve customers who had said they had an allergy when ordering, if they had completed specific allergy safety training.

Mr Abrashi confirmed that, as of February 2023, there was no requirement to complete the online modules in the presence of colleagues, and they could be done at home.

He said the online training is only provided in English, with no other language options, and he, as a regional manager, would not be aware how many times a trainee had attempted the quiz before they passed.

The coroner also noted that on the day of her death, “neither Hannah or her mother were carrying an epi-pen that had been prescribed”.

The inquest previously heard there is a factual dispute about the order, and Ms Duyile says she asked for two soya hot chocolates and asked staff to thoroughly clean the equipment.

A post-mortem examination found Hannah died after suffering a hypersensitive anaphylactic reaction triggered by an ingredient in her hot chocolate that caused an allergic response.

In a statement read by a member of the family’s legal team on her behalf, Ms Duyile said: “I have always been extremely diligent in managing Hannah’s allergies, and she had never suffered a serious allergic reaction prior to this incident.”

“Hannah had everything to live for and was so full of life and promise,” she added.

Ms Duyile held a framed photograph of Hannah and cried as the statement was read out on her behalf to reporters.

A post-mortem examination found Hannah died after suffering a hypersensitive anaphylactic reaction triggered by an ingredient in her hot chocolate that caused an allergic response.

A Costa Coffee spokesperson said: “The loss of Hannah is a tragedy, and our heartfelt thoughts remain with her family and friends. 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.”