Ready allergy labeling "inadequate", baguette death investigation finds

The labeling of Pret a a Manger allergies was inadequate, said the coroner in the case of a girl who died after eating a wand in the food chain.

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, suffered a cardiac arrest after buying a sandwich at Heathrow Airport in 2016.

She was "reassured" by the lack of specific information about allergens on the package, the coroner discovered.

Natasha's family said the food labeling laws "were playing Russian roulette with our daughter's life".

Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, Natasha's father, said the survey should "serve as a turning point to make meaningful change and save lives."

Dr. Sean Cummings, coroner, said he would report to the government whether large companies should be able to benefit from regulations allowing for a reduction in the labeling of products made in stores.

• Can we learn from the death of Pret baguette?

Natasha, of Fulham, in West London, ate a baguette of artichokes, olives and tapenade bought in a Pret store around 5:00 pm (local time) in Terminal 5 of the 39th Heathrow Airport on July 27th, 2016.

She began to feel sick about 20 minutes after the British Airways flight and suffered a cardiac arrest and died later that day.

The investigation revealed that the baguette contained sesame – to which Natasha was allergic – but that the ingredient was not stated on the package.

Dr. Cummings said that he would also write to Pret about his practices of gathering information about allergic reactions and responding to serious concerns.

"I had the impression that Pret had not touched on the fact that food allergy monitoring in a company selling over 200 million items a year was a very important thing to take seriously, "said Dr. Cummings.

The investigation revealed that Pret had not tagged "homemade" chopsticks containing sesame seeds despite six cases of allergic reactions during the year preceding Natasha's death.

Although her father administered two EpiPen injections, Natasha died in a nice hospital a few hours after eating the sandwich.

"Natasha said that she still could not breathe and miserably looked at me, she said," Dad, help me, I can not breathe, "said Ednan-Laperouse in a communicated.

The court heard that EpiPens – used to treat severe allergic reactions – administered by Natasha's father had a 16 mm needle "that might be insufficient for adrenaline to reach the muscle".

Dr. Alexandra Croom, consultant allergist, told the investigation that it would be "impossible to know" if a longer needle would have improved treatment with Natasha, some forms of adrenaline-resistant shocks .

Dr. Cummings stated that he would make the following reports:

• Ready To Eat Regarding Collection Of Information On Allergic Reactions And Response To Serious Concerns
• At the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and manufacturers of Epipen regarding the apparently insufficient length of the needle and the dosage of adrenaline in the device
• Secretary of the Environment, Michael Gove, to see if large food business operators should benefit from current food regulations.

Clive Schlee, CEO of Pret a Manger, said, "We are deeply sorry for Natasha's death."

"We can not begin to understand the pain felt by the family and the grief they will continue to feel.

"We listened to everything the coroner and Natasha's family said this week and we will learn from them."