“His death should not have happened”, A very powerful statement made by Emma Kocher, Sister of Owen Carey who passed away 22nd April 2017 due to an anaphylactic reaction from food eaten and ordered at a restaurant despite making staff aware of his allergies.

Teenager Owen Carey was celebrating his 18th birthday on this unfortunate day in a British burger chain called Byron. Owen had ordered a fried chicken burger and informed the waiting staff of his dairy allergy. However, the teen received a fried chicken burger coated in buttermilk, causing a fatal allergic reaction that took his life within the hour.

Owen’s family appealed for a change in law to prevent similar accidents happening in the future. As this was something completely avoidable and in essence unfair.

Byron’s CEO Simon Wilkinson extended his "deepest condolences" to Carey's family in a statement. "It is a matter of great regret and sadness that our high standards of communicating with our customers were not met during Owen's visit, We believe that Byron always did its best to meet our responsibilities, but we know that this will be of no comfort to Owen's family.”

The death of Owen Carey was concluded by assistant coroner Briony Ballard who ruled “Owen died from a severe food-induced anaphylactic reaction from food eaten and ordered at a restaurant despite making staff aware of his allergies”.

While we do not here of similar cases in the Maldives. It is important we learn from this case. It is better to prevent an accident before it occurs rather than change when the damage is done. It is an important topic we should discuss about and put the spotlight on. For the people who are afraid to enjoy a simple meal outside the comfort of their home it is our duty to make sure they feel safe.

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