Grieving families and the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation are calling for immediate changes to the inquest system after deaths from severe allergic reactions. They want investigations into fatal anaphylaxis to become mandatory and for near-fatal reactions to be reported nationally. The foundation also argues for appointing a national allergy lead to drive reform. The recommendations follow a study that found there is no single data source to determine the full scale of anaphylaxis deaths in England and Wales, hindering real-time analysis that could save lives.

The study by Dr Georgia Richards, an epidemiologist at King’s College London and founder of the Preventable Deaths Tracker, reviewed 6,000 Prevention of Future Deaths notices issued between 2013 and 2025 and identified only 32 involving anaphylaxis, around two deaths per year. Estimates of annual fatalities vary widely, from about 20 to more than 8,600. The researchers describe this as the tip of the iceberg. Every death in that period involving anaphylaxis was considered potentially preventable. Coronors flagged 189 concerns in these reports, mainly about gaps in allergy education, training, and national oversight. PFDs are sent to organisations deemed capable of acting and require a response within 56 days; the study found only 45% of the 68 organisations replied. The data also showed that children aged 10 to 17 were at the greatest risk. Hospital admissions for severe allergic reactions to food have tripled in the last two decades.

The report calls for all anaphylaxis deaths to be examined by a coroner on a mandatory basis, a new national system to record all anaphylactic events including near-fatal cases, and a national database of all deaths investigated by coroners in England and Wales. It also repeats the call for appointing a national allergy lead to drive change. Dr Richards said the findings show coroners repeatedly raise the same concerns in PFDs without action. The Natasha Ednan-Laperouse Foundation was founded by Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse after their daughter Natasha died in 2016 following a baguette that did not list sesame as an ingredient. Attendees at the launch included Abimbola Duyile, whose daughter Hannah Jacobs died from a milk allergy in 2023; Emma Turay, whose daughter Shante Turay-Thomas, 18, died after eating hazelnuts in 2018; and Mike and Aicha King, whose daughter Lily, 18, died after a reaction to food in Morocco in 2024. Leigh Day partner Michelle Victor, who co-sponsored the event, said the coronial system has failed families and there is a lack of a coordinated national data-collection system.