Parents call for allergy safety reforms after girl's milkshake death

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 15:08 · Archive

Mia St Hilaire, 12, died after drinking a milkshake contaminated with hazelnut at a London café in August 2023.

Mia St Hilaire, 12, from Sydenham, died in August 2023 after drinking a Twix milkshake at Pop Inn Café in Bermondsey, south-east London. She had a nut allergy and took two sips of the drink before telling her aunt it contained nuts. She collapsed at her aunt's home and died in hospital days later after suffering rapidly progressing anaphylaxis.

An inquest concluded on Thursday that the milkshake contained hazelnut residue from a Kinder Bueno milkshake made in the same blender 25 minutes earlier. Assistant Coroner Briony Ballard found that café operator Baris Yucel had not washed the blender before preparing Mia's drink. CCTV evidence supported this conclusion. Ms Ballard said: "I'm satisfied on the balance of probabilities that a failure to control allergen contamination at the cafe caused Mia's death."

In January 2025, Yucel was fined £18,000 and given 100 hours of community service after admitting six criminal charges related to the Food Safety Act, including failing to make allergen advice visible to consumers and failing to manage allergen contamination during food production.

Mia's parents, Adrian St Hilaire and Chanel Spence, said in a statement that they believed "significant changes" were needed to protect people with food allergies. They argued that consumers currently rely on food hygiene ratings when choosing where to eat, but these provide no information about how restaurants and cafes manage allergies. They called for the introduction of a separate, clearly displayed allergy management rating scheme for food businesses, similar to food hygiene ratings.

The parents said eating out should not be a risk for people living with allergies and expressed hope that lessons would be learned from Mia's death to prevent other families suffering similar tragedies.

How it is being reported

• Girl's death prompts call for allergy management ratingsMia St Hilaire had a tree nut allergy and suffered an anaphylactic shock after drinking a milkshake.BBC London · 8 Oct, 14:31
• London girl, 12, who died from allergic reaction to milkshake was 'deeply loved'Mia Shay St Hilaire drank a Twix milkshake that contained hazelnut left in the blenderMyLondon · 8 Oct, 14:30
• 'Eating out should not be a risk', say parents of Sydenham girl after milkshake deathThe parents of Mia Shay St Hilaire, 12, have called for major allergy safety reforms after an inquest found a nut-contaminated milkshake caused her death.News Shopper · 8 Oct, 13:44

In this story: Mia St Hilaire · Adrian St Hilaire · Chanel Spence · Baris Yucel · Briony Ballard · Pop Inn Café · Sydenham · Bermondsey

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