It happened just days before her graduation
A Texas college student died after eating a meal on a first date just days before her graduation.
Alison Pickering, 23, had a peanut allergy which she first learned of when she was a child after returning home from pre-school with hives.
Her family say she was very careful when she ate out but had ordered the dish before and not had a reaction.
Whenever she would eat something that had peanuts as an ingredient, Alison would start to ‘feel it in her lips and in her throat,’ her parents said and they would rush her to the emergency room.
However, those trips were rare because Pickering became cognizant of what she was eating.
Her mum said: “She was always very, very careful. She rarely ate cookies that were not mine.”
On May 4, 2023, Pickering prepared for a first date, choosing a restaurant she had eaten at before – Newton’s Saddlerack – and ordered the mahi-mahi, a dish she’d had before.
Neither she nor the wait staff knew the recipe had changed, and peanut sauce was added.
Her dad said after a few bites, she realised something was wrong.
“She did her EpiPen. The ambulance came. She actually walked to the ambulance talking to them, but somewhere along the way, things went downhill.”
Just a few days before her graduation from Tarleton State University, the 23-year-old passed away.
Her mum said in a Facebook one year on that the family were still ‘grappling with many emotions’.
She said: “Through our heartbreak, we are determined to honor Alison’s memory by raising awareness about the critical need for transparency in the restaurant industry.
“Disclosing clearly-known anaphylactic allergens like peanuts or peanut sauce is simple and no cost to restaurants, but is a matter of life and death to customers.”
They are calling for clear, consistent communication at restaurants and comprehensive allergy training for all restaurant staff.
The Texas State Legislature had already passed the Sergio Lopez Food Allergy Awareness Act to improve training and communication among kitchen workers last year.
However, the Pickering family want to work with the Texas Restaurant Association ‘to determine what guidelines could be put in place to help restaurants have better communication to their customers as far as ingredients, much like labels on grocery store items you buy.’
By doing this, they are confident they could save lives.
