A young girl with a severe dairy allergy may have been served a Costa Coffee hot chocolate that was made with cows’ milk after a possible “miscommunication” an inquest has heard.
13-year-old Hannah Jacobs, who was allergic to dairy products, along with fish and eggs since she childhood, suffered an “immediate reaction” to the beverage, despite her mother ordering two hot chocolates with soya milk. Hannah died within hours of taking one sip of a hot chocolate coffee drink in February 2022, East London Coroner’s Court was told.
Urmi Akter who had been working at the coffee shop in Barking, east London, for approximately eight months told the court she took the order from Abimbola Duyile for the takeaway drinks, and said she could see and hear Ms Duyile “clearly” at the time.
Ms Akter said Ms Duyile had asked for two hot chocolates, and asked “can you wash the jug because my daughter has a dairy allergy?”
The court heard that under Costa’s rules, customers who ask for a non-dairy product or state they have a dietary requirement should be shown a book kept under the till which includes ingredients and details of how a drink is made.
In her statement, Ms Akter said she did not show Ms Duyile the book “as she told me washing the jug was fine”.
Other questions included whether Ms Akter was provided with any training in her own language, if refresher training had been provided, if she knew what an allergen was, and if she knew the potential consequences of being subject to any allergy.
She was also asked if anyone confirmed her understanding of the training and if she ever wrote anything on a drink to identify what was in it.
Ms Akter, who was assisted by an interpreter while giving evidence, exercized her legal right, under coroners’ rules, not to answer a series of questions that could be seen as incriminating as she gave evidence.
Emily Slocombe, representing Hannah’s family, asked:
“If you had got out the allergy book and shown and discussed this with Hannah’s mother, this would have been an opportunity for any miscommunications to be cleared up, wouldn’t it?”
Ms Slocombe also asked Akter if she had repeated the order back to Duyile and queried why she did not confirm whether cows’ milk was being used and if she had told the barista who went on to make the drink about the allergy.
Ms Akter did not give an answer to these questions, and the inquest continues.
