A 12-year-old girl from Sydenham, southeast London, died in August 2023 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to hazelnuts present in a milkshake she consumed at the Pop Inn Cafe in Bermondsey. An inquest held at the London Inner South coroner’s court concluded that the death was caused by cross-contamination of the milkshake with hazelnut residue from a previously prepared drink.
Mia Shay St Hilaire, who had a known allergy to hazelnuts, drank a Twix milkshake that had been contaminated by traces of hazelnuts from a Kinder Bueno milkshake made in the same blender, which had not been cleaned between uses. Assistant coroner Briony Ballard stated that Mia developed rapidly progressing anaphylaxis and collapsed at her aunt’s home shortly after consuming the drink. Despite emergency treatment and hospital admission—including transfer to intensive care at Evelina London Children’s Hospital—Mia died.
Southwark Council took legal action against the café’s operator, Baris Yucel, who pleaded guilty in January 2025 to six offences related to food safety and allergen management. These included failing to provide allergen advice, insufficient controls to prevent cross-contamination during food preparation, and serving food containing undeclared allergens. Yucel was fined £18,000 and sentenced to complete 100 hours of community service.
Mia’s parents, Adrian and Chanel Shay St Hilaire, expressed their grief and called for stronger measures to protect allergy sufferers. They highlighted that current food hygiene ratings do not reflect how allergy management is handled in food establishments and advocated for the introduction of a separate, visible rating system dedicated to allergy safety. “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,” they said, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness and improving regulations.
The case drew attention from allergy safety advocates, including Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, founder of Natasha’s Foundation, who noted that Mia’s death underscores the ongoing challenges in managing food allergies and the need for improved industry standards and public awareness.
The inquest’s findings serve as a solemn reminder of the dangers posed by inadequate allergen controls and have spurred calls for systemic changes to prevent similar tragedies in the future.