British teenager dies after taking just three bites of Mexican burrito

A British teenager died after eating a burrito containing sesame while holidaying in Mexico earlier this month.

Joe Dobson, 19, had gone out to eat at a restaurant in the town of Playa del Carmen in the Mexican region of Quintana Roo when he had an allergic reaction.

Dobson, who was allergic to sesame, eggs, milk and peanuts, asked the restaurant multiple times in Spanish and English not to put sesame in his food as he was allergic to it, the South London Coroner's Court heard.

He even sent the first burrito he was served back because he thought it contained sesame. Dobson took only three bites of the burrito when he realised that it had sesame.

In a statement read at South London Coroner's Court in Croydon, his friend Harriet Preston said: "Joe's meal arrived again and I watched him put his torch light over it. He took two bites and said 'no, that's got it in it."

"He went over to the bar staff; they were in denial. He could feel it in his throat. He said he needed an ambulance but the staff were reluctant. The staff did not treat our situation like what it was. There was no basic first aid or knowledge," added Preston.

Dobson had left his EpiPen at the apartment where they were staying, and by the time his friends could get it and use it on him, it was too late. Eventually, a police car took him to a local hospital, but he could not be saved, per a report in The Mirror.

A food allergy is caused by your immune system mistaking harmless proteins in certain foods as a threat. It releases a number of chemicals, which trigger an allergic reaction, per the definition given by the National Health Service (NHS).

According to the NHS, the number of people with food allergies is increasing every year in the UK. The reasons behind this are still not clear, but a theory suggests that the changes in our diets over the years may be causing it.