Filipina student in Canada dies after drinking smoothie on campus

Andrea Mariano (Photo from Queen’s University)

Andrea Mariano, a first-year student at Queen’s University, experienced a severe allergic reaction – anaphylaxis – after drinking a smoothie she ordered on campus on September 15.

“She had ordered a smoothie. All her life she has been very particular about letting whoever it is that is preparing her food know,” Andrea’s cousin Hedellaine Valentin said in a Global News report.

“To say, ‘I have an allergy to peanuts, I am deathly allergic to peanuts and I have an allergy to dairy products.’ She knows that. She tells them,” Valentin added.

Mariano was rushed to Kingston General Hospital when she started feeling discomfort but she died after a couple of days.

The 18-year-old student, who had always been meticulous about her allergies, also did not bring her auto-injector with her on that day of school.

Taking into account Mariano’s death, several universities in Canada started reviewing and enforcing stricter food safety and food allergy policies and practices.