Texas college student dies eating her favorite meal on first date after restaurant changed menu

A Texas assemblage pupil died aft eating a repast she had connected a archetypal day conscionable days earlier her graduation past year, her household claims, adjacent though she'd ordered the crockery successful the past.

Alison Pickering, 23, had known she had a peanut allergy since she returned location from preschool with hives, her parents told CBS News.

'She said, "Well, a person of excavation shared with maine a cocoa Jiff sandwich," and I was like, "Oh!" her mother, Joy Pickering recounted. 'And it became evident she had a peanut allergy.'

From past on, whenever she would devour thing that had peanuts arsenic an ingredient, Alison would commencement to 'feel it successful her lips and successful her throat,' and her parents would unreserved her to the exigency room.

But they said those ER visits were rare, arsenic Alison became cognizant of what she was eating.

'She was ever very, precise careful,' her ma said. 'She seldom ate cookies that were not mine.'

Alison adjacent remained vigilant arsenic she was preparing for a archetypal day connected May 4, 2023 - choosing a edifice she had eaten astatine before, Newton's Saddlerack, and ordering the mahi-mahi, a crockery she had antecedently eaten astatine the restaurant.

Neither she nor the hold unit knew the look had changed, and peanut condiment was added. 

'She took a fewer bites, realized thing was wrong,' Alison's father, Grover, said.

'She did her EpiPen. The ambulance came. She really walked to the ambulance talking to them, but determination on the way, things went downhill.'

Alison was past pronounced dead, conscionable a fewer days earlier her graduation from Tarleton State University successful Stephenville.

'It's tragic, and doesn't request to hap to anyone else,' Grover said, arsenic his woman posted connected Facebook that they are inactive 'grappling with galore emotions' much than 1 twelvemonth later.

'Through our heartbreak, we are determined to grant Alison's representation by raising consciousness astir the captious request for transparency successful the edifice industry,' Joy wrote connected Tuesday.

'Disclosing clearly-known anaphylactic allergens similar peanuts oregon peanut condiment is elemental and nary outgo to restaurants, but is simply a substance of beingness and decease to customers.'

She added that she and Grover anticipation that 'by sharing Alison's story, nary different household volition person to endure the symptom we've experienced.'

At the aforesaid time, they are calling for clear, accordant connection astatine restaurants and broad allergy grooming for each edifice staff. 

The Texas State Legislature had already passed the Sergio Lopez Food Allergy Awareness Act to amended grooming and connection among room workers past year.

But the Pickerings accidental they besides privation to enactment with the Texas Restaurant Association 'to find what guidelines could beryllium enactment successful spot to assistance restaurants person amended connection to their customers arsenic acold arsenic ingredients, overmuch similar labels connected market store items you buy.

'I cognize we're going to prevention lives by doing this,' Joy added.

Mike Newton, the proprietor of Newton's Saddlerack, has disputed the claims that unit were unaware of the paper change, but told DailyMail.com helium cannot remark pending litigation.