18-Year-Old With A Dairy Allergy Died On His Birthday After A Restaurant Said His Sandwich Was Safe To Eat

From Delish

An 18-year-old in London was celebrating his milestone birthday at the British chain Byron Hamburgers back in 2017 when he died almost immediately after suffering an anaphylactic reaction to his sandwich. According to CNN, victim Owen Carey informed the restaurant of his dairy allergy beforehand and was assured the chicken sandwich he ordered was "safe to eat."

The Guardian reports Carey collapsed while walking with his girlfriend to the London Aquarium after eating the buttermilk chicken. Paramedics transported him to St. Thomas's hospital where he was pronounced dead 45 minutes later.

"The deceased made serving staff aware of his allergies. The menu was reassuring in that it made no reference to any marinade or potential allergenic ingredient in the food selected," coroner Briony Ballard wrote in his statement and was later read at Southwark Coroner's Court on Friday: "The deceased was not informed that there were allergens in the order. The food served to and consumed by the deceased contained dairy which caused the deceased to suffer a severe anaphylactic reaction from which he died."

Carey's family is now working to legally ensure this doesn't happen to others, hence the recent coroner's statement. "Owen was the shining light in our family. We are calling on the Government to change the law on allergen labelling in restaurants," they said in a statement, per the U.K.'s press association."We want restaurants to have to display clear allergen information on each individual dish on their menus. The food industry should put the safety of their customers first."

Byron CEO Simon Wilkinson passed along his "deepest condolences" to the family, writing:

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