Schoolboy, 12, died of severe allergic reaction to curry containing peanuts after takeaway staff assured his family it was nut-free

• Connor Donaldson died on October 19 last year after eating a prawn balti
• His mother Sarah received assurances from staff at the Tyldesley Tandoori takeaway in Greater Manchester, that the dish would not contain nuts
• After eating a few mouthfuls Connor started gasping for breath
• He suffered a severe asthma attack, which led to cardiac arrest
• His mother told an inquest: 'He assured me my meal wouldn’t contain nuts'
• Investigations found chefs used the same ladles and spoons for all curries
• Tests also confirmed a balti paste used contained traces of nuts
• Coroner Jennifer Leeming recorded a verdict of accidental death
• She warned all people suffering nut allergies to avoid all takeaways

By Lizzie Parry

Published: 05:42 EST, 25 March 2014 | Updated: 08:42 EST, 25 March 2014

Tragic: Connor Donaldson died in hospital after suffering a severe allergic reaction to a prawn balti takeaway

A 12-year-old Manchester United fan died of a severe allergic reaction to a takeaway curry despite staff assuring his family the dish contained no nuts.

Moments after taking his first few bites of prawn balti, ordered from the Tyldesley Tandoori restaurant in Greater Manchester, Connor Donaldson started to gasp for breath as he suffered a severe asthma attack.

His mother Sarah Donaldson, who also suffers from a nut allergy, had told staff when ordering the takeaway that her meal must not contain any trace of nuts.

But investigations launched after Connor's death revealed kitchen staff had been using the same ladles and spoons to serve all food, an inquest heard.

The curry was also found to contain balti paste, which contained traces of nuts. In addition the takeaway used almond powder in dishes, which contained 50 per cent peanut powder as suppliers sought to supplement the expensive ingredient with a cheaper nut.

Mrs Donaldson, giving evidence at an inquest held in Bolton, said she had been diagnosed with asthma, hayfever, eczema and a nut allergy at a young age.

She said while Connor had been diagnosed with asthma, hayfever and eczema, he had never formally been diagnosed with a nut allergy.

'As he had three of the four conditions I had I took it as read he would have a nut allergy and I treated him accordingly,' she said.

'I was always careful to ensure he never came into contact with any food with nuts in. He never had Chinese food and would not eat any sweets or confectionery which may contain nuts.

'From an early age he was self-disciplining and made sure he didn’t eat those products.

'Apart from a broken leg when he was nine he was happy and healthy although he would sometimes suffer from his asthma when he played football.

'They would stop the game so he could use his inhaler then start it up again.'

Her son, an avid Manchester United fan, was described as 'football crazy', naming his bearded dragon Sir Alex after Sir Alex Ferguson.

The inquest heard the year seven pupil was 'cheeky and funny' and 'full of life'.

On October 19 last year Connor had scored the winning goal in a youth football match.

When he arrived home after spending the day with friends, his mother suggested the family order an Indian takeaway.

Assurances: The 12-year-old's mother Sarah Donaldson told an inquest she specifically gained assurances from staff at the Tyldesley Tandoori restaurant in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, that the prawn balti ordered for herself and Connor would not contain any nuts, due to their allergies

Due to their nut allergies, Mrs Donaldson and her son, ordered a prawn balti after specifically gaining assurances from staff on the phone that the dish did not contain any nuts.

'The gentleman I spoke to on the phone spoke perfect English,' she told the inquest.

'We discussed that my meal couldn’t contain nuts. He assured me my meal wouldn’t contain nuts. Connor and I do not eat korma or tikka because it has nuts.

'Connor didn’t have a lot to eat - possibly only a couple of mouthfuls because it tasted funny. Within seconds I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. I took a few breaths from my inhaler and went to the front door for some fresh air.

'I came back and sat down next to Connor and he tapped me on the leg and said "I can’t breathe".

'I got his inhaler and he took ten breaths from it. The inhaler had no effect and I could tell it wasn’t going well so I straight away rang 999.

'I was comforting Connor and he slumped down and I was on the phone to the ambulance who were telling me what to do. I had already started doing CPR.'

When paramedics arrived at the family's Tyldesley home, his condition was so serious there was no time to put him on a stretcher.

A paramedic carried the 12-year-old to the ambulance, and continued to try and revive him for 20 minutes en route to the Royal Bolton Hospital. Shortly after arriving at the hospital doctors pronounced Connor dead.

Tests confirmed he had suffered from a severe peanut allergy. He had only avoided the food on the advice of his mother, rather than seeking a professional opinion and testing.

Minhaz Ahmed, the owner of the Tyldesley Takeaway, said he was satisfied serving a balti to someone with an allergy at the time - but has since realised the potentially devastating effects of cross-contamination.

Football fan: The 12-year-old Manchester United fan scored the winning goal in his youth match on the day he died. Connor's family described him as 'cheeky and funny' and 'full of life'

Emergency: Connor's mother Mrs Donaldson started CPR while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Paramedics took over, attempting to revive the 12-year-old for 20 minutes en route to the Royal Bolton Hospital (pictured) where he was later pronounced dead

He maintained that woks and spoons were always clean. He said: 'I would be ok with someone having a balti with allergies. I had been aware of the risk of cross contamination.

'I know even the slightest thing can do something to another curry so we always make sure spoons and woks are clean.

'Not just for allergies but also for flavour. As far as I am concerned the same utensil should not be used in my premises if it will be used for another sauce.

'We do use Patak’s balti sauce. It says it may contain traces of nuts. On the new menu I have said that all dishes may contain nuts. I will recommend customers not to have a balti but I can’t say whether or whether it doesn’t contain nuts.

'There is a risk. No matter how careful you are there is a risk. There has to be. Business owners need to know because we don’t want this to happen again.'

Coroner Jennifer Leeming reiterated his warning, telling the inquest that all allergy sufferers must be aware of the dangers of eating at any takeaway restaurant, especially Indians, where it is wise to assume there are traces of nuts in all dishes.

Varsha Patel, an environmental health officer from Wigan Council, said an inspection of the premises found staff at the takeaway had a poor knowledge of 'cross contamination' of foods and were using the same spoons to decant different sauces.

The chef was unaware Patak’s sauces had an advisory label for allergy sufferers.

Miss Patel said: 'We didn’t notice any actual peanuts being used. The Patak’s paste was the only product being used which may contain traces of nuts.

'Apart from that there was almond powder and coconut flakes. The powder was being decanted into a drum which can lead to further contamination.

'Almond powder can contain peanuts because they are cheaper.

'We did some research into almond powder and there has been an adulteration with high percentages of peanut powder being used to bulk it up because it is cheaper.

'The almond powder contained at least 50 per cent peanut powder. We need to go back to the wholesaler to investigate further.'

Dr Chris Moulton of Royal Bolton Hospital said: 'There are more things in Indian food than nuts capable of causing allergies. I think in this very sad incident the allergy was too overwhelming and too sudden.'

The medical cause of Connor’s death was given as an acute asthma attack due to an anaphylactic reaction to food containing peanuts.

Dr Vibha Sharma, an allergy expert at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital added: 'If you are eating out in these restaurants or getting takeaways then the people providing the food need to understand you have an allergy but it is still a big risk. If due care is not taken then one would expect serious contamination.'

Reaching a conclusion of accidental death, Bolton coroner Mrs Leeming said the public need to be aware of the risk that in food outlets where nuts are used there is a high likelihood of cross contamination.

She added: 'Even that small amount caused by cross contamination can be dangerous to a person with a nut allergy.

'I don’t think the message is sufficiently out there that not only do you need to avoid food with nuts in them but you need to be careful about eating food from premises where nuts are used with any food stuff. Even a small amount from cross contamination can be fatal.

'What we didn’t know until the evidence of today is the risk presented by cross contamination in premises where food is sold unsealed. That would include restaurants and takeaways and cafes.

'A very small amount of allergen might be all that is required for a tragedy such as this. Depending on the individual cross contamination might be enough to result in this sort of desperate, desperate tragedy.

'I offer my sincere condolences. I am so glad he got to have that football game and scored the winning goal.'

Currently, around 10 people per year die from food-related anaphylactic shock and allergic reactions in the UK.