A young girl has died after drinking a milkshake that had been prepared in an unwashed blender.
Mia St Hilaire ordered a milkshake at the Pop Inn Cafe on Southwark Park Road in south-east London, but shortly after drinking the beverage, she was rushed to hospital.
Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the 12-year-old tragically died.
Now, it has been revealed the girl suffered from a severe allergic reaction to the shake, and the cafe operator responsible has been fined over the incident.
The girl died after drinking a milkshake from this London cafe (Google Maps)
Mia’s parents said the youngster had a tree nut allergy, leading Southwark Council to believe the drink prepared by the cafe had traces of hazelnuts or almonds in.
CCTV footage then revealed the cafe’s operator, Baris Yucel, had not cleaned the blender before making Mia’s drink, meaning it possibly had traces of nuts made from a previous order that triggered Mia to go into an anaphylactic shock.
Southwark Council argued the drink was the trigger to Mia’s allergic reaction, and that her death could’ve been avoided, BBC news reports.
In December last year, Yucel pleaded guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court to six charges, including serving food that contained an allergic ingredient, a lack of allergen signage or information visible to customers, and a failure to identify cross contamination risks of allergenic ingredients.
The 47-year-old was fined £18,000 (around $22,0000) and ordered to 100 hours of community service in his sentencing on Friday (January 24).
Mia’s grieving parents, Adrian and Chanel, said in a statement: “We think of Mia every day and knowing her death could potentially have been prevented so simply, only adds to how heartbroken we are as a family.
“We hope this conviction and fine sends a loud message to businesses serving food and drinks across the country, of the devastating consequences of failing to take food safety seriously”, reports Your Local Guardian.
The family’s attorney, Michelle Victor, also highlighted that businesses failing to adhere to food safety protocols can have ‘tragic consequences’.
Meanwhile, the UK’s food allergy charity, The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said in a post on Instagram: “This is yet another death of a young person from a food allergy that should never have happened. We have met Mia’s parents on several occasions, and our hearts are absolutely broken for them and their terrible loss.
“Rules around allergen safety are there to protect people with food allergies and must be taken seriously by all café and food operators. Food allergies are not a choice or preference, but a serious medical condition that can for some be fatal.”
