Coroner calls for UK anaphylaxis register after Pret a Manger deaths

The family of Celia Marsh outside Avon coroner’s court in Bristol after the inquest into her death in September. Photograph: Tess de la Mare/PA

The families of two Pret a Manger customers who died after experiencing severe allergic reactions have welcomed a report from a senior coroner suggesting hospitals should be obliged to report fatal and near-fatal anaphylaxis.

Maria Voisin, the senior coroner for Avon, said a robust system of capturing and recording serious cases of anaphylaxis could provide an early warning of the risk posed to allergic individual byproducts with an undeclared allergen content.