Charles: My grief at needless allergy death
THE Prince of Wales is leading the fight against the growing allergy epidemic among children after being ‘moved beyond words’ by the tragic death of a teenage girl.
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, who had a severe nut allergy, died in 2016 after eating a Pret A Manger artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette which did not display that it had sesame seeds baked into it.
This week Charles will host a global symposium of allergy scientists at Dumfries House in Scotland organised by The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. The foundation was set up by Natasha’s parents, who have campaigned for better labelling on food and fought for the introduction of Natasha’s Law, which requires all food outlets to provide full ingredient lists with clear allergen labelling on pre-packed food.
Natasha, from Fulham, west London, bought the baguette at Heathrow airport before boarding a flight to Nice with her father and best friend. The idea of bringing the world’s leading allergy experts together was first raised by Charles after the 2018 inquest into Natasha’s death, which highlighted the growing allergy epidemic, particularly among children and young people.
The two- day symposium, taking place tomorrow and on Wednesday, will see Charles take part in a round-table discussion with the scientists and Natasha’s parents Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse.
Seventeen world-leading allergy experts from the UK, US, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong and Denmark will also attend. Charles said: ‘I was moved beyond words by the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse and the way her parents have dedicated themselves to preventing other families suffering in the same way.
‘That is why my Prince’s Foundation is hosting leading experts in the field to tackle ... allergic disease, so that no more lives are needlessly lost due to allergic reactions.’
Mr Ednan-Laperouse said: ‘We are deeply grateful to HRH The Prince of Wales for hosting this event, which will involve many of the world’s leading allergy experts.’