Perth toddler dies five minutes after being eating popular snack

A Perth family has issued a tragic warning after their 22-month-old son died just minutes after this photo was taken.

There is nothing Brian Bwoga wanted more in life than to be a parent.

When he became dad to his two beautiful boys Alessandro, four, and Zaire (ZaZa) 22 months, he felt like his life was complete.

The 44-year-old stay-at-home father would spend his days looking after his sons and taking them on fun adventures around Perth.

He was even a regular at his local “Mother’s Group”, where he was warmly accepted with open arms by the mums with their children.

January 15, 2024, was like any other Monday. Brian had taken his two boys out for a fun day at the beach and was enjoying watching them play by the shore.

But what was meant to be an idyllic summer’s day soon turned into any parent’s worst nightmare.

“The weather was amazing, the boys were playing and it was just the perfect summer’s day,” Brian, who parents his boys with their mother Claudia, 39, told news.com.au.

Brian with his two sons, Zaire and Alessandro. Picture: Supplied

Mum Claudia with the boys. Picture: Supplied

“I was gathering up our things ready to go home. My older son Alex came up to me and asked if he could play for just five more minutes.

“I was carrying ZaZa, and I told them both to go and play together with their friends while I finish packing the car.

“The next minute ZaZa is just running to me, holding his neck and gasping for air.

“I jumped into action and did CPR, I put my fingers inside his throat and got one grape out. I was so relieved, I thought thank god I got it out.

“But I didn’t know there were four more grapes inside his throat.”

The toddler continued to choke, and Brian says his eyes started “popping out”.

He began performing abdominal thrusts to try and dislodge the grapes but to no avail.

“I told one of the mothers to call the ambulance. I was terrified,” he recalled.

“My older son was scared and asked me why there was blood coming from ZaZa’s mouth. I told him to go with another parent because I didn’t want him to see this.

“I was holding ZaZa and he was looking at me. I gave him CPR again and I tried so hard to save him.

“He gave me this look and died in my arms.”

This is the last photo Brian ever took of his son. Picture: Supplied

Five minutes later, he was dead. Picture: Supplied

Grapes area a notorious choking hazard for children under five and are usually too soft to be easily dislodgd from the throat. It is recommended to always cut up grapes when feeding them to children.

Sadly, on this occasion, the grapes were left whole.

It was this mistake that cost Brian’s son his life, but he does not place blame on anyone.

Instead, he wants to educate the public about the importance of cutting up grapes.

“I was a chef, so I have always been taught to cut up fruit for kids,” he said.

“But not everyone knows to do this. I place absolutely no blame on anyone for what happened.”

Brian said while it felt like an eternity, all of this happened in less than five minutes.

He is sharing his story to help raise awareness of the dangers of the seemingly innocent snack.

Zaire with his older brother Alessandro. Picture: Supplied

“I left home with a beach bag and left with a body bag,” he said.

“It happened so quick. Within a few minutes he was gone.

“My son Alex is traumatised. He misses his brother so much and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Brian remembers his son Zaire as a “happy little boy” who always made everyone around him smile.

“He showed me nothing but overwhelming love for the last 22 months,” he said.

“His life was too short. He had so much love and happiness to give.

“We used to go to the Salvation Army to volunteer together. He loved the old people there.

“He would find his favourite old person and go and hug them and look for the chocolate or lollies in their bag.

“When I told them that he passed, they were crushed too. He brought them so much joy.

“ZaZa would always put a smile on everyone’s face.”

The parents are heartbroken over the death of their son. Picture: Supplied

Brian is now fighting for change and hopes to introduce ‘ZaZa’s Law’ to parliament.

This new law would ensure there are choking hazard labels on all grape packets and other food items that could be dangerous for small children.

“I would hate for this to happen to anyone else. But I hear so many stories about kids dying from choking,” he said.

“Ideally, I would like a warning label on all grapes and small foods to warn people to cut them up. Even a big sign at the supermarket for parents.

“Not everyone knows this, but every parent needs to be aware of the dangers of food.

“I want ZaZa’s Law to come into parliament to get labels on everything.

“We buy toys and they come with warning labels for things like batteries or other choking hazards. Why can’t we do the same for food?”

The dad also hopes that a new anti-choking device, called LifeVac, might be more widely introduced in Australia and placed in public spaces.

“Everywhere you go, shopping centres or beaches, there is a defibrillator on the wall,” he explained.

Grapes that are not cut up are very dangerous for children under five. Picture: iStock

“That is great, but we also need those anti-choking devices. It sucks everything up like a plunger and has saved so many lives.

“If we had that at the beach that day, ZaZa might still be here.”

A spokesperson for Australia New Zealand Food Standards, who oversees labelling laws, said anyone could make an application to change the code, which it would then assess.

Caitlin Collins, the Labor MP for Hillarys, told 9News that she recently met with the father and spoke with him about the campaign.

“I recently met with Brian in my office. My heart really goes out to him and the family after the tragic loss of their little one,” she told the outlet.

“This was a truly devastating accident and I extend my sincere condolences to the entire family.

“I will continue to offer support to Brian through this difficult time.”

Brian has made a petition for ZaZa’s law to be introduced in Australia and it currently sits at over 7,000 signatures on change.org.

You can sign the petition here.