‘I lie awake at night’ says mum after daughter's Costa allergy death

The mother of a teenage girl who died of an allergic reaction after drinking a Costa hot chocolate has told the BBC she lies awake at night thinking about whether she could have prevented her death.

Hannah Jacobs, 13, had a severe dairy allergy and died within hours of taking a sip of the drink on 8 February last year.

Abimbola Duyile told BBC Breakfast she wanted to ensure no parent lost their child in the same way and called on the government to raise awareness about the use of EpiPens.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said ministers would "carefully consider" the views of allergy experts and any recommendations made by the coroner at Hannah's inquest.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Ms Duyile said: "I'm praying the government are listening to this.

"If we can get the government at least [to] let people know the symptoms of someone having allergic reaction, it will be amazing. They can save a life.

"Teach everybody how to use an EpiPen, whether it's a kid or adult."

She also called for restaurants and coffee shops to be clear about allergies when taking orders and for better signage on items which contain allergens.

Earlier this month, an inquest concluded Hannah 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.

Hannah and her mother had bought a hot chocolate from a Costa Coffee branch in Barking, east London.

Her mother said she ordered two soya hot chocolates - which was disputed by the coffee shop worker who made the drink during the inquest - and had asked staff to clean the equipment they were using.

The inquest heard the hot chocolate may have been made with cows' milk and Ms Duyile was not shown a book, which included ingredients of how the drink was made.

The teenager later became unwell in a dentist surgery after taking one sip of the drink, and shouted: "That was not soya milk."

Ms Duyile then rushed Hannah to a pharmacy, where she passed out.

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

The inquest also heard evidence from Costa employees about their online training on allergens, including from one who said they failed the quiz 20 times before passing.

"Everybody needs to change their ways,” her mother told the BBC. “If you're training somebody, they can't understand the allergen on the company website and it's taken them 20 times to do it over again, you need to ask yourself , '[is] something off here?'

"Your staff should know what goes in everything.

"This should be a common basic thing. Every single person [in] restaurants, coffee shops need to know."

Ms Duyile said her world had been "turned upside down" by Hannah’s death.

"Most nights I stay awake thinking maybe there is something I could have done differently... maybe carrying an EpiPen with me. "

She said Hannah was “a bright child, funny, full of life” and “loved Christmas and her birthdays”.

"She [would] have been an amazing adult," she said.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), responsible for food safety across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, told the BBC it was developing a best practice guidance on the provision of allergen information in writing and conversation.

It said it hoped to consult on the guidance in October, with it published in early 2025.

In a statement, a Costa Coffee spokesman said Hannah's death was a "tragedy and our heartfelt thoughts remain with her family and friends”.

“We have strict allergy training and procedures in place to help to minimise the risk to those customers who suffer from allergens, however, we agree with the coroner’s conclusion that our allergen process was not followed that day at our franchise partner store," he added.

Costa says it will continue to review staff training and is working alongside the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation - a charity raising awareness about allergies.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "We have been in ongoing discussions with the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation about improving support for people with allergies and ministers will carefully consider their views and any recommendations made by the coroner following the tragic death of Hannah Jacobs.”