Costa Coffee allergy death: the need for enhanced allergen awareness in the food industry 

A coroner has concluded that 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs, who passed away in 2023 after having a severe reaction to a Costa Coffee hot chocolate that contained dairy milk, died because of a “failure to follow processes”. This tragedy has brought to light a serious lapse in allergy processes and adhering to them, and has sparked a conversation in the industry about safeguarding hypersensitive customers, and prioritising allergens when it comes to training and process development. Hannah’s mother, Abimbola Duyile said “it is clear that although food service industry professionals are required to have allergy training, this training is not taken seriously enough, and better awareness is needed.” 

An estimated 2 million people in the UK currently live with a diagnosed food allergy – and getting it wrong can have severe consequences with life-threatening impacts on your customers. Further serious consequences to the business and those employed in the business could involve legal action whether criminal or civil. 

Food businesses must provide allergen training to all staff which includes understanding about allergens, how to control allergens and deal with requests from allergic customers and the legal obligations. Communication with customers is key, as is following company allergen policy.  Food Alert’s Allergen Awareness Course for chefs, managers and supervisors, and all other staff members covers the above plus critically how to implement practical solutions. A key part of allergen education is ensuring that everyone understands the serious consequences and is prepared to champion better allergen management in the business. 

Dr Lisa Ackerley, Chair of the Food Alert Technical Advisory Board and leading food safety expert, says: “It is essential that when there are special requests regarding allergens that the person dealing with this is competent to answer questions and carry out the right actions to serve the customer safe food.” She also suggests that “only trained managerial staff supervise the service of products in these circumstances – and to my mind this protects not only the customer but the front of house staff and the company too.” 

Aside from training, there are other robust process you should be putting in place in your food business to avoid tragedies like this. The experts at Food Alert are here to guide you through the laws surrounding allergens and you can find our top tips for controlling and managing allergens for your business in our free ultimate guide to allergen management. 

Kathryn Gilbertson, partner at HCR Hewitsons and food safety lawyer, adds: “It is essential that food business operators provide clear, accurate information to food hypersensitive consumers. This includes the opportunity for a conversation between customers and the server to explain the ingredients and risk of cross-contamination in foods being made for them.” 

Food Alert is also here to help with food safety audits, which play a crucial role in evaluating and improving existing safety measures. Our qualified and experienced Environmental Health Practitioners have the skills to spot non-compliance issues and help you put them right before something devastating happens.  

Furthermore, Food Alert has menu management software Nutrition+, which makes complying with best-practice processes and legal obligations that much easier – just add your ingredients, create recipes and menus and meet all requirements easily and cost-effectively. It also pulls your allergen through to your online menus, meaning your customers can use allergen filters to make sure your food is safe for them, giving them peace of mind that you’re taking allergens seriously at your business. 

Kathryn says that “following this tragic death, FBOs need to be vigilant. They should review the adequacy and effectiveness of their allergen training, carry out spot checks and use ‘mystery shoppers’ to identify weaknesses in training and brand standards, and all FBOs should follow the Industry Catering Guide to Good Hygiene Practice.” 

Want to know more about how Food Alert can help you? Call us on 020 7244 1900 or contact us to discuss your food safety and health & safety needs further.