Allergens must be listed on menus, coroner says, as figures show soaring hospitalisations of children

Allergens must be listed on menus, a coroner has said, as new figures show the number of children hospitalised as a result of severe reactions has risen by 70 per cent in five years.

Owen Carey died after unwittingly eating buttermilk in a burger restaurant, despite having made staff aware of his dairy allergy when he went out to celebrate his 18th birthday with his family.

Yesterday the coroner warned of a risk of future deaths, if menus were not forced to contain clear information.

The teenager’s family is campaigning for changes in the law, so that restaurants cannot leave it to waiting staff to provide such information verbally.

It comes as campaigners warned that Britain is facing an “allergy emergency”, with rising numbers of children underdoing treatment for severe reactions.

The data - obtained by a foundation set up by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after eating a Pret a Manger baguette - shows a rise in cases of anaphylactic shock among those aged 18 and under.

The NHS Digital figures reveal 1,746 hospital admissions for anaphylactic shock in children in 2018/19, up from 1,015 in 2013/14 - a 72 per cent rise. When adults are included, there has been a 34 per cent jump from 4,107 cases to 5,497.

Natasha died aged 15 in 2016 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette.

The product contained sesame seed, to which Natasha was allergic, but this was not listed on the label.

Her parents have campaigned for a change in the law around food labelling and in June the Government announced "Natasha's Law" will come into force in 2021.

This will require foods that are pre-packed directly for sale to carry a full list of ingredients.

The new NHS data shows a wide regional variation in hospital admissions for children with anaphylactic shock.

The region with the highest increase was London, where the number of admissions rose 167 per cent, from 180 in 2013/14 to 480 in 2018/19. Among children aged 10 and under, the increase was 200 per cent, from 110 to 330.

Natasha's mother, Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, from the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: "These terrifying figures show we are facing an allergy emergency.

"The number of children with allergies and suffering severe allergic reactions is rising year-on-year at a deeply alarming rate.

"Scientists don't yet understand why the numbers of children with allergies are on the rise, which is why it is vital that we invest in large-scale research projects into both the causes and potential cures.

"We lost our beautiful daughter Natasha to anaphylaxis after she ate an allergen hidden in food.

"We don't want to see any other family facing the terrible grief that we will always endure.”

Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to a trigger, with food such as nuts, milk, fish, shellfish, eggs and some fruits a common cause.

Symptoms include feeling light-headed or faint, breathing difficulties or fast, shallow breathing, wheezing, a fast heartbeat, losing consciousness and a severe rash.

Many allergy specialists agree that children are more likely than ever to develop food allergies, possibly due to changes in the environment.

Hasan Arshad, professor of allergy and clinical immunology at the University of Southampton, said: "These new figures confirm what we know is a worrying increase in severe food allergy.

"We should not forget that behind each of these numbers is a child or adult who has suffered the most severe consequences of an anaphylactic shock.”

Owen Carey, from Crowborough in East Sussex, died after eating dairy in a grilled chicken breast at Byron's branch at the 02 Arena in Greenwich, London, on April 22 2017.

Mr Carey, who was celebrating his 18th birthday with his family, made staff aware of his allergies but was not told the chicken was marinated in buttermilk, an inquest into his death heard in September.

Assistant coroner Briony Ballard, who investigated Mr Carey's death, has now said that unless action is taken around food allergy information "there is a risk that future deaths will occur".

Ms Ballard called for a national register recording the circumstances around deaths from food allergies "could then be analysed and learnt from" by specialists.

She also raised concerns about the effectiveness of allergen training at Byron 02, the effectiveness of the placement and appearance of allergen notices on restaurant menus, and the lack of "key" allergen information on the front of menus.

Byron's chief executive officer Simon Wilkinson backed the call for a national register to record severe food reactions.

He said Byron's menus are now as "descriptive as possible" without eliminating the need for customers to consult an allergy guide.

The prominence and size of allergen notices have also been enlarged on Byron's latest menu, which was launched last month, Mr Wilkinson said.

Mr Carey's family said in a statement: "Now that we have the coroner's report we are even more determined to push for change to honour Owen's memory.

"As a family we are calling for legislative change, 'Owen's Law', so that the discretion afforded to restaurants to provide allergen information orally is removed."