12-Year-Old Girl Died After Drinking Milkshake Made in an Unwashed Blender
Mia Shay St HilaireCredit: Press Association via AP
Mia Shay St Hilaire suffered a severe allergic reaction after drinking a milkshake containing hazelnut residue
The cafe operator reportedly pleaded guilty to food safety offenses
Mia’s parents are calling for separate allergy management ratings at restaurants and cafes
A 12-year-old girl died after drinking a milkshake made in an unwashed blender at a cafe in England.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, an investigation into the death of Mia Shay St Hilaire at Inner South London Coroner’s Court concluded that she suffered a severe allergic reaction after drinking a milkshake at the Pop Inn Cafe in the London neighborhood of Bermondsey, multiple outlets including the BBC, The Independent and Metro reported. She visited the eatery with her aunt and sister in London in August 2023.
CCTV evidence captured the moment cafe operator Baris Yucel made the drink in a blender that hadn’t been washed after its previous use, per the outlets.
Mia, who had a hazelnut allergy, died despite life-saving efforts, including being rushed her to an ICU at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, the outlet reported.
Pop Inn Cafe, London, EnglandCredit: Google Maps
Assistant coroner, Briony Ballard, concluded that the drink “had been cross-contaminated with hazelnut residue” from a “milkshake previously prepared in the same unwashed blender. She developed rapidly progressing anaphylaxis and later collapsed at her aunt’s home,” per the Metro.
Cafe operator Yucel pleaded guilty to six offences in January 2025 after Southwark Council brought a case against the cafe, the outlet added.
These included not making allergen advice available or visible to consumers, failing to manage allergen contamination during the food production process, and serving food that contained an allergenic ingredient that was not supposed to be present, Southwark Council said in a release.
“What happened to Mia-Shay is a tragedy and my heart goes out to her family and the people who loved her,” said Cllr Natasha Ennin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods in the release.
“This might have been avoided if the operator of the café had followed simple food safety rules, and our officers will continue to work with local businesses to help ensure these are followed by all food outlets in Southwark.”
London Inner South Coroner’s CourtCredit: Alamy
Yucel was fined £18,000 ($24,000) and given a 100-hour community order.
In a statement to local newspaper the Southwark News, Yucel’s lawyer said, “Prior to sentencing Mr Yucel, District Judge Dean commented that the 47-year-old defendant was of previous good character and that throughout the 22 years in the food business, there have been no previous incidents reported against him.”
“Pop Inn Café had a good food safety record and the Judge accepted that Mr Yucel had shown genuine remorse,” the lawyer continued. “He took immediate steps to better educate himself in September and October 2023 and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.”
“Mr Yucel has had to live with the consequences what happened and a day does not go by when he does not think about the child and her family,” the lawyer concluded.
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Yucel no longer owns or operates the cafe, which currently has a perfect five-star food hygiene rating, Southwark News added.
Michelle Victor, a lawyer representing Mia’s parents, said in a release obtained by PEOPLE that the investigation highlighted “serious concerns” about the handling of food allergies across the service industry.
Alongside parents Adrian St Hilaire and Chanel Spence, she called for the U.K.s Food Standards Agency (FSA) to review the current system and consider reforms.
“We are convinced that significant changes are needed to protect people living with food allergies,” said Mia’s parents in the release.
“Consumers rely on food hygiene ratings when deciding where it is safe to eat, but they do not tell us anything about the way a food business runs allergy management systems.
“There should be a separate, clearly displayed rating dedicated to allergy management, like the food hygiene rating. This would mean that people with allergies could make informed choices about where they eat,” the parents continued.
“For families living with food allergies, eating out should not mean they are at risk. We hope that lessons will be learned from Mia’s death and that changes will be made to prevent other families [from] enduring the devastation that we now have to live with,” they added.
“No family should ever have to lose a child in these circumstances. If the local authority had ensured that the cafe’s allergy management responsibilities had been properly understood, and put into practice, we believe Mia would still be alive today,” the parents concluded.
“We want to make sure that change is Mia’s legacy so that we can help to save lives in the future. Mia was deeply loved and she will never be forgotten.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Rebecca Sudworth, Director of Food Policy at the FSA, said: “Our deepest sympathies are with Mia’s family. Food businesses must take allergen risks seriously, every time. People have the right to know exactly what is in their food and drink, and it is a business’s legal duty to provide accurate allergen information.”“We recently produced new guidance for businesses to make sure they understand their responsibilities to inform consumers about allergens, including the risk of cross-contact, and we are keeping this policy under review. We also have free allergy training and practical tools that businesses can use.”
Assistant coroner Briony Ballard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further comment.
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