Bermondsey cafe operator charged following death of a 12-year-old girl.

A Bermondsey cafe operator has received a criminal charge after a 12-year-old girl died after being served a milkshake from the cafe despite her having a severe allergy to nuts. 

Mia Shay, from Sydenham, was visiting family in Bermondsey when she bought a milkshake from Pop Inn Cafe on Southwark Park Road.

The milkshake consumed by the young girl contained traces of hazelnut and almonds after the blender it was made in wasn’t cleaned properly after the previous milkshake for the customer beforehand. 

The incident happened in August 2023, Mia was taken to hospital where she sadly later died after 5 days spent in intensive care.

CCTV evidence presented by Southwark Council’s food safety team at Croydon Magistrates Court showed the cafe’s operator Baris Yucel, had not cleaned the blender before making the milkshake - leading to the young girls death.

Mr Yucel, 47, pleaded guilty at Croydon Magistrates' Court to six charges, including serving food that contained an allergenic ingredient that should not have been present.

Pop Inn Cafe has been fined £18,000 and its operator has been given 100 hours of community service after they admitted to six criminal charges, all in relation to the Food Safety Act. 

Councillor Natasha Ennin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods said: “What happened to Mia-Shay is a tragedy and my heart goes out to her family and the people who loved her. This might have been avoided if the operator of the café had followed simple food safety rules, and our officers will continue to work with local businesses to help ensure these are followed by all food outlets in Southwark.” 

Mia’s mother & father Chanel and Adrian St Hilaire, said they "think of Mia every day" and "knowing her death could potentially have been prevented so simply only adds to how heartbroken we are as a family".

In a statement, a lawyer for Mr Yucel said “prior to sentencing Mr Yucel, District Judge Dean commented that the 47-year-old defendant was of previous good character and that throughout the 22 years in the food business, there have been no previous incidents reported against him.

"Pop Inn Cafe had a good food safety record and the Judge accepted that Mr Yucel had shown genuine remorse.

"He took immediate steps to better educate himself in September and October 2023 and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

"Regrettably, the cafe were not notified by the child's guardian that the child was allergic to tree nuts and the Judge stated that apart from the lack of signage as to notifying the establishment of any food allergies/intolerances, that this would not have prevented the tragic consequences which followed.

"Mr Yucel has had to live with the consequences (of) what happened and a day does not go by when he does not think about the child and her family.
"Pop Inn Cafe was granted a Food Hygiene Rating of 5 in October 2023 and it remains at this level after a full inspection by Southwark Council in September 2024."

An inquest into Mia’s death is set to take place at a later date.