For the third time in a week, the food allergy community learns of the death of yet another young person due to anaphylaxis.
The Howard family of Southborough, Massachusetts, is sharing their tragic story to raise critical awareness about the dangers of food allergies after their 22-year-old son, Timothy “Timmy” Howard, passed away from an allergic reaction. Timmy had just graduated from the University of Rhode Island in May with a degree in communication studies and was looking forward to a summer internship. His mother, Patty Howard, described him as “A positive, upbeat, kind, quiet soul,” adding, “He was on the cusp of living his life.”
Tragically, Timmy’s life was cut short on May 24, just days after his graduation, due to a severe allergic reaction to peanuts. His family believes the late-night snack her consumed was contaminated with peanuts.
His father, Tim Howard, recounted the terrifying moments: “He came in and woke us up and said that he couldn’t breathe. At that point, it unfolded very quickly.”
Despite the family’s immediate and correct actions, administering Timmy’s EpiPen and calling 911, their efforts were in vain.
Timmy’s sister, Julia Howard, who also suffers from food allergies, emphasized the severity of such reactions, stating, “It kills people. It killed my brother.”

Struggling with immense grief and unanswered questions, the Howard family is now committed to transforming their personal tragedy into a broader mission of public education and advocacy. They are particularly focused on encouraging food companies to provide clearer and more precise labeling.
Julia Howard articulated this concern, saying, “For companies to realize that putting ‘may contain’ sometimes – knowing what’s in your food and consumers knowing what’s on the label, I think is really important.”
His mother echoed this sentiment, stating, “We just want to bring awareness to make sure everyone reads labels and really looks at the ingredients. Maybe we can help out another family, so they don’t have to go through what we just went through – hell and back.”
Beyond raising awareness, the Howard family finds solace in knowing that Timmy, as an organ donor, will be saving four lives. In a testament to his impact and their ongoing mission, Timmy’s Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brothers at the University of Rhode Island are actively fundraising for FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education). This initiative further supports the Howard family’s goal of preventing similar tragedies and highlighting the critical importance of food allergy awareness and safety.
Here is a WJAR-TV news report on the incident:
Our hearts go out to the Howard Family, who are grieving the loss of their son and brother. We hope their advocacy in Timmy’s name will bring them some measure of solace, and we offer them our sincere condolences as they try to make sense of a senseless tragedy.
As we do when reporting such tragedies, we seek strategies that the food allergy community can employ to prevent similar outcomes. However, in this case, the issue may reside with food manufacturers and FDA regulations.
Timmy did all the right things. By all accounts, he and his sister were careful about eating store-bought foods, and he administered epinephrine when he began feeling the telltale signs of an anaphylactic reaction.
Unfortunately, epinephrine — the only drug that can halt and reverse the progression of anaphylaxis — must be administered promptly, and even then, its effectiveness is not guaranteed.
The question then is how peanuts found their way into his system, and the family indicates the source was the snack he consumed.
His sister Julia identified the problem with her quote: “For companies to realize that putting ‘may contain’ sometimes – knowing what’s in your food and consumers knowing what’s on the label, I think is really important.”
It is imperative to understand that allergy labeling in the US is terribly flawed, with regulations putting manufacturers’ interests before consumers’.
US labeling regulations require manufacturers to disclose only when one or more of the “Top 9” allergens are ingredients in the product.
While manufacturers are expected to do their best to prevent cross-contact with allergens in their products, they often use shared equipment and facilities where those allergens are processed.
You have seen precautionary warnings on labels like “May contain milk” or “Made on equipment that also processes tree nuts,” but understand that these are entirely voluntary; the FDA has no regulations regarding when they should be used, how they should be worded, or where they should appear. Many manufacturers, small and large, do not include such statements, so their absence does not mean the product is safe from your allergen of concern!
You might think companies are inclined to include such statements on their packaging to avoid lawsuits, but you would be wrong. For a primer on how brands decide whether to include such statements, see When a Manufacturer Says ‘Trust Us’ Regarding Allergens.
The only way to determine whether a product is safe is to contact the manufacturer and ask them about the manufacturing process of their products.
To learn more, visit us at SnackSafely.com.