British University Student Suddenly Dies While Eating Pizza... Because of This Powder

The cause of death of a man in his 20s from the UK who suddenly collapsed and died while eating pizza about three years ago was revealed to be a 'peanut allergy.' It was found that the restaurant had started adding peanut powder to the food but did not inform customers of the changed ingredients, leading to this tragedy.

On the 8th (local time), British media including BBC and The Guardian highlighted the case of university student James Atkinson, who died in July 2020. Atkinson was eating various foods such as pizza and curry ordered for delivery with a friend when he died. The police recently confirmed that his cause of death was anaphylactic shock due to a peanut allergy reaction.

British university student James Atkinson who died from a peanut allergy
[Image source=BBC capture]

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Atkinson was a peanut allergy patient and had suffered several times in the past after consuming foods containing peanut ingredients. Because of this, he had a habit of carefully checking ingredient labels before eating. It is said that at the time of the incident, he confirmed that peanuts were not included before placing the order.

However, as soon as he ate the delivered pizza, he showed abnormal symptoms such as gasping for breath. He immediately called emergency services for help and asked his friend who was with him to find an emergency injection device. However, by the time Atkinson was urgently transported to the hospital, he had already lost consciousness and was ultimately pronounced dead.

As a result of the investigation, British police confirmed the presence of peanut ingredients in Atkinson’s stomach and found a large amount of peanuts in the food he ate. Accordingly, the police have launched an investigation, believing that the restaurant where Atkinson placed the delivery order had started using peanut powder but failed to properly inform customers of the change.

In the UK, restaurants are required to label all menus with allergy information according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidelines when using ingredients that contain allergens.

Meanwhile, peanut allergy reactions cause hives, abdominal pain, and vomiting when peanuts are ingested or come into contact with the skin. In severe allergy patients, there is a risk of losing consciousness or death. It is known that peanut allergy patients can have allergic reactions even from consuming trace amounts of peanuts.

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