Coffee barista 'failed to show' allergy book to mom of 13-year-old girl who died from one sip of hot chocolate
Topics: UK News, Food and Drink, Health
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Family Handout/Diana Miller/Getty Images
Topics: UK News, Food and Drink, Health
The barista who took the order of 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs has spoken out.
On February 8, 2022, Hannah Jacobs and her mom stopped off at a branch of Costa Coffee in Barking on their way down to London for a dentist's appointment.
Hannah - diagnosed with a severe allergy to fish, eggs and dairy - ordered a hot chocolate, but later, after consuming one sip of the drink, she experienced a hypersensitive anaphylactic reaction and passed away.
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At the coroner's court hearing, Hannah's mother Abimbola Duyile said in a statement: "When I arrived at the coffee shop I said to the person serving that we both would like hot chocolate.
"I said that Hannah was severely allergic to cows’ milk and said they should clean the jug - to which they agreed."
It was only once the pair had reached the dental practice and Hannah had taken a sip of the drink that they realized something wasn't right with the drink, with Hannah shouting to her mom from the loo: "That was not soya milk."
And the barista who took the order has since given her account from the day.
At the inquest, barista Urmi Akter said she heard Duyile's order and specifications 'clearly' and repeated the mother's request that the jug should be cleaned prior to making the order to make sure there was no residue of cow's milk.
She said the mom asked: "Can you wash the jug because my daughter has a dairy allergy?"
Akter claimed she then pointed out that the hot chocolate was made from milk. She alleges Duyile replied: "That's fine."
However, the barista admitted she 'did not show the mother the book' - the book being an information booklet for customers with dietary requirements detailing ingredients used in certain drinks and how it's made.
Costa Coffee's rules state any customers who order a non-dairy product or say they have a specific dietary requirement should be shown the book - stored under the till of each branch - as reported by the BBC.
Akter said: "I did not show the mother the book as she told me washing the jug was fine. I thought she, as the mother, would know more about [it]. I gave her the drink she requested."
The inquest was told there was a factual dispute between Akter and Duyile's recollections, with the coroner questioning why Akter hadn't thought it 'strange' she was being asked to wash out the jug between making the two drinks if Duyile had indeed ordered two soya hot chocolates.
Assistant coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe added: "As far as I understand, you said the mother mentioned the dairy allergy. The book was not shown to the mother and the only thing done was to make one drink, wash the jug and make the other drink."
Representative of Hannah's family, Emily Slocombe, questioned if the barista passed on the allergen information to the person making the drink and asked whether she confirmed whether cows' milk was being used.
She added: "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?"
The inquest began on Monday (August 12) and is set to last six days.
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."