Costa Coffee allergen failure leads to tragic death

The tragic death of 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs after drinking hot chocolate from Costa Coffee raises serious questions about staff training in dealing with allergens, with a coroner's inquest concluding that “processes” relating to allergy protocols “were not followed”.

Hannah Jacobs, who suffered from severe allergies to dairy, fish and eggs, died on February 8, 2023, just hours after taking a sip of the drink. The East London Coroner's Court was told of the completely inadequate communication between the cafe's staff and Hannah's mother, Abimbola Duyile.