An 18-year-old Queen’s University student has died after suffering an allergic reaction from a smoothie she bought on campus two weeks after starting university.
First-year psychology student Andrea Mariano was rushed to Kingston General Hospital Sept. 15 after suffering an anaphylactic reaction from the smoothie, which had traces of peanuts. She died on Sept. 18.
Mariano, who is from Thornhill, Ont., was severely allergic to peanuts and moderately allergic to milk.
The school expressed its condolences in a statement from Principal Daniel Woolf and announced it will begin a review process of its food services.
“The health and well-being of our students is of the utmost concern to us and we will review the many services we have in place to ensure they are consistent with best practices,” Woolf said.
The University of Alberta, McMaster University, and York University are among schools also reviewing its food allergy policies.
Research from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found anaphylaxis-related emergency room visits went up 95 per cent between 2006 and 2014. Flags at Queen’s were lowered to half-mast following Mariano’s death.
