SHE’D BE SO PROUD OF WHAT WE’VE ACHIEVED FOR HER..
Mum’s fight for teen killed by a sandwich
GRIEVING mum Tanya Ednanlaperouse will spend this special day in the place that inspires her most – her tragic daughter’s bedroom.
She will be surrounded by treasured Mother’s Day cards from the allergic teenager, killed by a sandwich she ate on a holiday flight in 2016.
Here among 15-year-old Natasha’s belongings – her pictures, books, clothes and the trainers she wore when she died – Tanya, 54, launched a food-labelling campaign to ensure no parents faced the loss she and husband Nad endured.
And last year they won. Natasha’s Law came into force in October, making businesses list EVERY ingredient on pre-packaged food. The couple also won MBES for their determination
“She’d be so proud of what we’ve achieved for her,” says Tanya. “I love to work in Natasha’s bedroom, at her desk. I feel her spirit still around. It gives me real inspiration.
Struggle
“Mother’s Days are difficult. One of the cards I look at the most is the last one she gave me.
“It has a picture of our family with the words, ‘there’s a miracle called a mummy’. It makes me smile. But it’s still so hard to make peace with what happened.”
Natasha was with her dad and a friend on her way to France to join mum for a holiday when she bought a baguette from Pret a Manger at Heathrow. She checked the ingredients because of her food allergy. But the sandwich contained hidden sesame seeds not labelled.
Shortly after take-off, Natasha had a reaction, fought to breathe and had a fatal heart attack. A defibrillator on the BA jet was not used.
Tanya says: “I still struggle with seeing a plane in the sky. I wear the ‘N’ necklace she had on when she died. I find myself playing with it and think of her.” A 2018 inquest blasted Pret for “inadequate” labelling. The chain vowed to make changes.
The family lobbied Government officials, met store bosses and educated food industry staff that any fresh item prepared on premises of sale should list every ingredient.
Around 1 in 40 children have at least one serious allergy. Tanya, of West London, says: “I go into shops and see the changes made and think, ‘that’s for you Natasha.’ It makes us very proud.”
feedback@people.co.uk For more on the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation see narf.org.uk/donate