Canadian high schools should do more about the threat of food allergies in the school lunchroom, a coroner in Ontario said Wednesday.

Dr. Andrew McCallum, the regional coroner for Eastern Ontario, cited the death of 13-year-old Sabrina Shannon, who died of an anaphylactic reaction almost one year ago at her high school in Pembroke.

Elementary schools have been vigilant about the problem but McCallum said high schools need a consistent policy to do more.

An epinephrine injector.
An epinephrine injector.

"The school systems need to develop plans to deal with kids who have anaphylaxis," said McCallum. "They need to have an awareness of which kids are anaphylactic in the school and have serious allergy problems."

Sabrina ate french fries at her high school cafeteria. It's believed the food was cross-contaminated with cheese, to which she was severely allergic.

Her parents said Sabrina had made sure the fries were cooked in vegetable oil before eating them, but that wasn't enough. Within a short time, Sabrina collapsed and became unconscious. Her heart and lungs collapsed and she died the next day.

"While Sabrina was dying, I made a promise to Sabrina that I'd do everything possible to prevent this fate from happening to any other child," said her mother, Sara Shannon.

Such deaths are rare but the threat always looms. An estimated 600,000 Canadians have a life-threatening allergy.

McCallum said all high schools should have a life-saving epinephrine injector called an EpiPen in the office, and all staff should be trained in how to use it and deliver CPR. Schools should also create allergen-free zones.

Some critics said high school students should be old enough to look after their medical conditions on their own, but it's a dangerous assumption, said Laurie Harada of Anaphylaxis Canada.

Harada said teens don't always make the best decisions when it comes to assessing risk and need adult supervision.

McCallum agreed, noting Sabrina was a conscientious young girl, but other teens with allergies may be self-conscious and they need to know about how serious allergies can be.