The tragic death of 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs, who had severe dairy allergies, has raised serious questions about the allergy training practices at a Costa Coffee shop in Barking, east London.
According to UK-based The Telegraph, an inquest heard that workers at the store used Google Translate to complete their allergy training, sparking concerns about the effectiveness of language comprehension in critical food safety procedures.
Hannah died shortly after consuming a hot chocolate her mother purchased at the Costa store. Abimbola Duyile, her mother, testified that she had explicitly informed staff of her daughter’s life-threatening dairy allergy and requested hot chocolates made with soya milk.
Despite these instructions, analysis later revealed the drinks contained significant traces of milk protein and no soya milk, leading to Hannah’s fatal reaction.
The inquest revealed a troubling gap in how Costa Coffee ensures employees understand allergy protocols. Ana Sanz, the assistant manager at the Barking location, admitted to using Google Translate while completing her online allergy training.
She explained that language barriers led her to rely on the translation tool for understanding key terms during the training process.
During the hearing, Costa’s regional operations manager, Faton Abrashi, was questioned about the use of Google Translate in allergy training. While unaware that employees used the tool, he defended it as acceptable for checking “two or three words” and downplayed concerns, arguing it was similar to using a dictionary.
However, Dr. Shirley Radcliffe, the assistant coroner, pointed out that the quiz linked to the training is complex and requires a strong grasp of English, which could be challenging for non-native speakers.
The inquest also uncovered that employees have unlimited attempts to pass the mandatory multiple-choice quiz that follows the allergy training. Some workers reportedly took the test up to 20 times before passing, raising concerns about whether repeated failures indicate deeper comprehension issues.
The inquest highlighted that Costa’s policy places the responsibility on customers to declare allergies, but staff are required to consult an allergy book when alerted.
Previously, only trained employees could serve customers with allergies, but the policy now prohibits untrained staff from serving any customers.
Costa’s allergy safety measures include quarterly audits, one of which is conducted by a third-party firm, and surprise visits from mystery shoppers posing as customers with allergies.
A failure to show the allergy book during these audits results in automatic failure.
Hannah’s death gives credence to the critical importance of clear communication and proper training in food service settings, particularly when it comes to handling customers with severe allergies.
The inquest continues as the court probes deeper into whether language barriers and training shortcomings contributed to this avoidable tragedy.
