The Prince of Wales has said he was “moved beyond words” by the death of a teenager who died from an allergic reaction to a Pret baguette.
Charles is hosting a global symposium of allergy scientists at Dumfries House in Scotland organised by The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
The foundation was set up by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died from anaphylaxis, the most severe form of an allergic reaction.
Natasha died on July 17 2016 aged 15 after eating a Pret a Manger artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette before boarding a flight at Heathrow with her father and best friend.
A coroner concluded that she would not have eaten the baguette if the sesame seeds – to which she was severely allergic – had been included on the label.
The idea of bringing the world’s leading allergy and environment experts together was first raised by Charles following the 2018 inquest into Natasha’s death which highlighted the growing allergic epidemic, particularly among children and young people.
The two-day global symposium on September 6 and 7 will see Charles take part in a roundtable 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 attend the event.
Charles said: “I was moved beyond words by the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse and the way her parents have selflessly dedicated themselves to preventing other families suffering in the same way.
“That is why my Prince’s Foundation is hosting leading scientists and experts in the field to tackle the environmental causes of allergic disease, so that no more lives are needlessly lost due to allergic reactions.”
Mr Ednan-Laperouse, co-founder of Natasha’s Foundation, said: “We are deeply grateful to HRH The Prince of Wales for inspiring and hosting this momentous event, which will involve many of the world’s leading allergy experts.
“By bringing the scientists together in one room, we hope to identify the most important and effective ways of tackling the allergy epidemic, to prevent other families from enduring the loss and heartbreak that we have had to endure following Natasha’s death.
“This is a real opportunity to draw up a blueprint to make allergy history and will help define the next major research intervention to be supported by Natasha’s Foundation.”
