Student dies at pub after her mum didn't spot allergy ingredients on menu
A healthy student died at a pub after suffering a severe allergic reaction to a mushroom risotto, an inquest has heard.
Georgina Mansergh had pre-ordered her starter for a big family meal a few days before the booking at the Angel Inn in Ferndown, Dorset. Her mum Lindsey read out the menu choices to her from a computer - but tragically did not see the ingredients for the risotto, as it was at the bottom of the screen. The risotto contained tahini, which is a paste made from sesame seeds.
Georgina, 24, had only eaten a couple of mouthfuls of the dish on February 11 when she began having a reaction. Mrs Mansergh swapped dishes with her before rushing home to get an antihistamine tablet, but when she came back Georgina had been sick, and was in the car park with her dad Nigel. They called an ambulance, but Georgina collapsed and passed out before paramedics arrived. Her father Mr Mansergh and a member of staff performed CPR until the ambulance arrived and took over, but she sadly died at the scene.
The student had eaten a mushroom risotto containing tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds (BNPS)The inquest in Bournemouth, Dorset, heard Georgina was diagnosed with a moderate nut allergy when she was two and would sometimes be sick or suffer with itchy, tingly lips if she ate something containing nuts. But her family said she had never had a serious reaction, and that she would normally just take an antihistamine. She had not been told she needed to carry an EpiPen, her parents said, and she generally avoided eating anything with nuts in.
They also said they did not blame the restaurant for what happened. Mrs Mansergh said when the family pre-ordered their food she looked at the menu on the computer and shouted the options out to Georgina, who was a vegan. She said the ingredients for the mushroom risotto were not visible because it was at the bottom of the screen, so she did not realise it had tahini in it.
Mum's heartbreak as 'best pal' daughter dies days after 'boozy birthday lunch'
Mrs Mansergh said: "Georgie was on the WhatsApp chat but she was slow with giving her choice. She was in the kitchen and I was at the computer. She said tell me what the options are. I said the vegan options are falafel and mushroom risotto and she said risotto. The mushroom risotto was at the bottom of the page so the actual ingredients were not visible. That's the horrible thing is if it had been in the middle of the screen I would have seen it."
Mr Mansergh said: "My wife sent a copy of the menu to the family WhatsApp to preorder. Georgie and she discussed menu options and she chose the mushroom risotto and plant burger. We hadn't noticed the allergen listed in the ingredients and don't know if Georgie had looked at the menu. She had eaten there previously with no issue."
He added: "Georgie had only just started to eat the risotto when she said she was having a reaction. My wife swapped starters with Georgie to make her feel more comfortable. But she knew the reaction would spoil the meal if Georgie didn't take some Piriton so went home to get it, she was back within ten minutes or so. I was already outside the pub with Georgie, she told me she had been sick. She was unable to take the Piriton without water so I went back in the pub to get some. Georgie got out of the car, stood on the edge trying to take a deep breath then stepped down. I told her to maybe get in the back seat and lie down and that's when she just collapsed onto me. I cannot begin to describe how devastated we are and our sons are at the loss of our beautiful girl and it is difficult to comprehend that she has gone."
He described his daughter's allergy as 'quite low key' and that she would still eat food products labelled 'may contain nuts'. He explained it was only foods labelled as nuts she would avoid. Mr Mansergh said: "The severe and adverse reaction was nothing like she had ever experienced before. She had learned to live with her allergies and was very aware of what she could and couldn't eat, which makes this even more tragic. While we don't hold the restaurant responsible at all, there are a number of factors we would like to raise that might be considered for wider restaurant guidance in the future."
He suggested allergens should always be discussed when people make a restaurant booking, more prominent signage should be visible and any dishes that contain a non-standard ingredient should flag that up in the title or possibly even include an allergen flag, similar to symbols used to indicate if something is vegan. Mr Mansergh added: "We have prepared this dish at home a number of times, any recipe we have followed did not include tahini. Would everyone reading the menu know that tahini contains an allergen? Talking to many people they don't know what tahini is and I did not."
The hearing heard Georgina had been studying for a master's degree in the green economy. Mr Mansergh said: "She was a vegan, she cared greatly about the environment and animal welfare. She was interested in fitness, attended the gym four times a week, and monitored her nutrition."
The inquest continues.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
