Family of Owen Carey who suffered fatal allergic reaction at Byron demand changes to the law
The family of a teenager from Sussex who died after suffering a severe allergic reaction to a burger he ate on his 18th birthday, are demanding changes to the law.
Owen Carey, from Crowborough, visited the Byron restaurant at the O2 Arena in Greenwich in April 2017.
Despite telling the waiter that he was allergic to dairy, he was still served chicken soaked in buttermilk.
Now, his family want to see changes to the law:
For it to be mandatory for customers to be asked by servers if they have any allergies
For allergy protocol to be tighter
For better training
For labelling on menus to be clearer
For a more comprehensive allergy matrix to be held behind the scenes in restaurants
An inquest into his death, held in September, heard that the restaurant's menu did not show that the burger he ordered contained dairy in the form of buttermilk.
A representative of the company said there were ingredients in dishes that were "not elaborated" on and customers needed to ask staff for help if they had allergies.
The medical cause of death was given as severe food-induced anaphylaxis.
He collapsed less than an hour after first experiencing an allergic reaction to his meal and was taken to hospital where he died.
The coroner ruled: "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. The deceased was not informed that there were allergens in the order."
He added: "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."
The food chain Byron has since made changes. Servers can only send orders to the kitchen once they have confirmed they have asked the customer about allergies.
The menu at Byron now has an allergy message, covering just under a third of a page.