Dairy allergy kills an 11-year old

A 11-year-old boy with dairy allergy died after his father accidentally gave him a bar of chocolate that contained milk powder, an inquest heard on Monday (22). Raffi Pownall, from Lancashire, died on June 8 following a severe allergic reaction. Blackburn Coroner's Court heard that his father, Thomas, gave Raffi the bar thinking it was part of a Morrisons supermarket's "free from" range. But after the boy started vomiting, Thomas looked at the label and saw that it was gluten-free but contained milk powder. Thomas tried to save his son by giving him an EpiPen and his inhaler. He called emergency services when it became clear Raffi wasn't recovering. Raffi was immediately taken to a hospital in Blackburn where he was declared dead. Coroner Richard Taylor told the inquest that Raffi had “inadvertently ingested a small piece of chocolate containing milk powder that was believed to be ‘free from’.”