Pret told of 9 sesame allergy attacks before girl’s death

PRET A MANGER recorded six allergic reactions to baguettes containing sesame seeds in the year before a teenager’s death which were not “properly responded to”, an inquest heard.

Natasha Ednan-laperouse, 15, suffered a fatal reaction to a sandwich from the outlet, which she had not realised contained the ingredient, on July 17 2016.

An inquest at West London Coroner’s Court was told the packaging did not say that sesame seeds were “hidden” in the dough.

Yesterday, it emerged that a “specific warning” about the dangers of not signposting the allergen had been given to the food chain the previous year.

Pret baguettes described as “posh” or “artisan” were said to contain sesame seeds, including the artichoke, olive and tapenade version that Natasha ate.

A complaint log for the company showed nine cases of sesame-related allergy incidents. Four of these involved customers requiring hospital treatment, while another went to a medical centre. Six of the nine cases involved “artisan baguettes”. One woman’s doctor father helped save her.

Jeremy Hyam QC accused Pret of failing to label sandwiches with allergy information despite the “specific warning”.

Questioning Jonathan Perkins, the chain’s director of risk and compliance, he said: “There was a clear concern being repeatedly raised that artisan baguettes were causing sesame seed allergy problems, which were not properly responded to by Pret.” Mr Perkins said: “We responded appropriately to each individual complaint at the time.”

Natasha, from Fulham, West London, collapsed on a British Airways flight from London to Nice.