A 13-year-old girl died of a severe allergic reaction just hours after taking a sip of Costa Coffee hot chocolate because she “breached procedures”, an inquest heard on Friday.

Hannah Jacobs suffered from a severe milk allergy and suffered an immediate reaction after drinking the drink, which was supposed to be made from soy milk, while on an outing with her mother in Barking, east London, in February 2023.

Deputy Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: “The actual cause of death is failure to follow established procedures for discussing allergies and a lack of communication between the mother and the barista.”

The coroner noted that on the day of her death, “neither Hannah nor her mother carried a prescribed EpiPen.”

In a statement from the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Hannah’s parents called on the government to appoint an “allergy czar.”

Following the inquest, Hannah’s mother, Abimbola Duyile, paid tribute to her “vibrant, caring and loving” daughter who “had everything to live for.”

A member of Ms Duyile’s legal team read a statement on her behalf to the inquest in East London, saying: “Having heard all the evidence over the last week, it is clear to me that whilst allergy training must be provided to the food industry and healthcare professionals, this training is not taken seriously enough.

“We really need better awareness of the symptoms of anaphylaxis in these industries and in society. It is not acceptable that people serving food and drinks have to repeat an allergy training test 20 times.”

An autopsy revealed that Hannah died of an anaphylactic hypersensitivity reaction triggered by an ingredient in her hot chocolate that caused an allergic reaction.

There was a “miscommunication” between the cafe staff and Hannah Jacobs’ mother.

The East London Coroner’s Court was told that Hannah had been allergic to dairy products, fish and eggs since childhood.

Her mother ordered two takeaway soy hot chocolates from the coffee chain before a dentist appointment and said her “anger gave way to panic” when her child reacted to the drink.

Ms. Duyile told the cafe staff that her daughter had an allergy and that it was extremely important for the staff to clean the equipment when preparing her a drink.

In a court statement, she said Hannah “stood up abruptly, went to the toilet and shouted, ‘That wasn’t soy milk.'” She said her daughter’s reaction was “quick” and she was coughing up mucus and experiencing chest pain.

Ms. Duyile took Hannah to the nearest pharmacy because her “lips and mouth were very swollen and itchy.”

“My first reaction was anger towards the staff at Costa Coffee, then it turned to fear,” she said.

Hannah collapsed in the pharmacy and a pharmacist administered an EpiPen injection into her leg. Resuscitation attempts began when a customer called an ambulance and paramedics arrived to continue resuscitation attempts. Hannah was eventually taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Her mother said in a statement: “Hannah had just entered puberty and was learning to be independent and manage her allergies when she was tragically taken from us.

“She knew what her allergies were from a young age and took them very seriously. I have always been very diligent in managing Hannah’s allergies and she had never suffered a severe allergic reaction before this incident.

“Hannah loved life. She was a vibrant, caring, loving, open and energetic child with a strong sense of right and wrong. Hannah had everything to live for and was so full of life and promise.”

The parents of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 from a severe allergic reaction to sesame seeds in a Pret-a-Manger baguette, called for “urgent” government action to “improve understanding” of allergies in schools, businesses and society at large.

Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, co-founders of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, a food allergy charity, said: “Today, together with Hannah’s grieving mother Abi, and on behalf of other parents who have lost children to food allergies, we are again calling on the Government to appoint an Allergy Tsar – a national advocate for the one in three people who live with not just food allergies, but all types of allergic conditions, including asthma and eczema.”

The investigation found that at the time of Hannah’s death on February 8, 2023, allergen training for new Costa employees consisted of online modules that could be accessed from home and a quiz that trainees had to pass.