Teen who had fatal reaction to buttermilk chicken ‘should have asked about allergens’ says Byron
A CORONER has called for menus to stamp a 'red A' next to all items containing allergens after a teen died from eating a Byron buttermilk burger.
Owen Carey, 18, died in his girlfriend's arms after taking a bite of a 'Skinny Chicken Burger' in April 2017.
Speaking at his inquest, Assistant Southwark Coroner Briony Ballard blasted: "That would potentially mean an 'A' against every item on the menu. I think that's very similar to signposting.
"Just having a simple red A beside every single item that has an allergy. I don't understand the problem with that. But it might be more distinctive?"
Owen's death came a year after Brit schoolgirl Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died after eating a baguette in Pret a Manger.
She had unknowingly eaten sesame contained in an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she had bought from a branch in Heathrow Airport.
Just having a simple red A beside every single item that has an allergy. I don't understand the problem with that?
Coroner Briony Ballard
Natasha, 15, died of anaphylaxis after collapsing on board a flight to Nice on July 17 2016.
Her parents are supporting Owen's family.
Aimee Leitner-Hopps, Byron's head of food and compliance, denied any wrongdoing by the firm.
She said: "Our businesses chose to use an allergy guide that's very much in line with common practice and it enables us to provide all the information in one document which sits alongside the menu.
"So if you have an allergy and you have informed us, you would receive such a guide.
"I think the reason is that there's an expectation that we want people to tell us about the allergies.
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"Businesses have been audited by the local authority, it's never been highlighted to us as an issue as to the placement or size.
"It's not about shifting responsibility, it's about the expectation that a customer with an allergy should inform us.
"There was an assumption made. There should not have been an assumption."
The inquest continues.
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