A schoolgirl with a nut allergy died after she took two sips of a Twix milkshake made from a cafe’s unwashed blender, an inquest has heard.
Mia Shay St Hilaire, 12, suffered a severe allergic reaction after drinking the milkshake at the Pop Inn Cafe in Southwark Park Road, London, while visiting with her aunt and sister on August 30, 2023.
The youngster’s drink contained traces of hazelnut from a previous Kinder Bueno milkshake prepared in the same blender – a contaminant Mia was severely allergic to.
Mia, from Sydenham in southeast London, took two sips of her Twix shake before telling her aunt: ‘This has nuts in.’
She was then brought to a pharmacy and given antihistamines, but after being taken home, she collapsed and emergency services were called.
Mia was taken to the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London where she was kept on life support so her family had time to say goodbye to her, but ultimately died as a result of anaphylaxis.
CCTV evidence showed that cafe operator, Baris Yucel, 48, had not cleaned the blender before preparing Mia’s milkshake.
Mia Shay St Hilaire suffered a severe allergic reaction after drinking a milkshake made from a cafe’s unwashed blender
The 12-year-old’s drink was believed to contain traces of hazelnut from a previous Kinder Bueno drink made in the same blender – a contaminant she was severely allergic to
Assistant coroner, Briony Ballard, listened to evidence at London Inner South Coroner’s Court before publishing a narrative conclusion on Mia’s death.
Ms Ballard said Mia had consumed some of a Twix milkshake ‘which had been cross-contaminated with hazelnut residue from a Kinder Bueno milkshake previously prepared in the same unwashed blender roughly 25 minutes before’.
‘She developed rapidly progressing anaphylaxis and later collapsed at her aunt’s home,’ Ms Ballard said.
‘The hazelnuts triggered an anaphylactic reaction of which she died of as a result. The failure to control allergen contamination at the cafe caused Mia’s death.’
Following the allergic reaction, the inquest also heard Mia was given a 150 microgram dose of AAI when the correct dose would have been 300mg.
‘When she suffered anaphylaxis the AAI adrenaline Auto-Injector dose injected was 150 micrograms rather than 300,’ Ms Ballard said.
However, Ms Ballard added the correct prescription of AAI would still ‘not have prevented her death.’
Despite extensive emergency treatment and being transferred to intensive care at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Mia died, the verdict said.
Mia took two sips of a Twix milkshake before telling her aunt: ‘This has nuts in.’
Ms Ballard noted Pop Inn Cafe was inspected five days following the incident, where the food rating was ‘then recorded as 1’.
‘The inspector found evidence of cross contamination and a lack of appropriate allergen information,’ she said.
The inquest heard Southwark Council had brought a case against the cafe, with their food safety team arguing cross-contamination from the unwashed Kinder Bueno shake containing hazelnuts led Mia to suffer a severe allergic reaction.
The council said her death could have been avoided.
In January 2025, Yucel pleaded guilty to all six offences related to the case, including not making allergen advice available or visible to consumers, failing to manage allergen contamination during the food production process, and serving food that contained an allergenic ingredient that was not supposed to be present.
He was fined £18,000 and handed a 100-hour community order.
In a statement read by their representative, Michelle Victor, Mia’s parents Adrian and Chanel said their daughter’s death demonstrates the potentially ‘catastrophic consequences’ that can arise when allergy management systems are not ‘robustly implemented, monitored and enforced’.
‘Today marks the conclusion of an incredibly difficult and painful process for Mia’s family who have shown remarkable strength, dignity and determination in seeking answers surrounding her death,’ they said.
CCTV evidence showed cafe operator, Baris Yucel, had not cleaned the blender before preparing Mia’s milkshake
‘The evidence has highlighted serious concerns about the way food allergies are understood, managed and monitored within the food service industry.’
Ms Victor added the family are now calling on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and relevant authorities to review the current framework governing food allergy safety and ‘consider meaningful reforms’.
‘No family should ever have to lose a child in these circumstances,’ she said. ‘If the local authority had ensured that the cafe’s allergy management responsibilities had been properly understood, and put into practice, we believe Mia would still be alive today.
‘We are convinced that significant changes are needed to protect people living with food allergies. Consumers rely on food hygiene ratings when deciding where it is safe to eat, but they do not tell us anything about the way a food business runs allergy management systems.
‘For families living with food allergies, eating out should not mean they are at risk. We hope that lessons will be learned from Mia’s death and that changes will be made to prevent other families enduring the devastation that we now have to live with.
She added: ‘Mia was, and is, deeply loved and she will never be forgotten.’
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE is the founder of Natasha’s Foundation. Her daughter Natasha, 15, died on a BA flight on 17 July 2016 after suffering a severe anaphylactic reaction after eating an artichoke, olive, and tapenade baguette bought from a Pret A Manger shop at Heathrow Airport.
She said: ‘The inquest into Mia’s death illustrates just how far we still have to go to improve awareness, understanding and regulation of food allergies.
‘Food allergies are not a preference or a choice, they are a serious, unpredictable medical condition which for some, like Mia, can be fatal.
‘Everyone has a responsibility to keep people with food allergies safe – families, schools, workplaces, cafes and restaurants, regulators and government’.
She added: ‘Food allergen regulations should be as important as food hygiene. Yet the current different systems for monitoring food allergen are inadequate.’
