Pret allergy death prompts record rise in food recalls

RECALLS of foods reached record levels after the death of a 15-year-old girl prompted producers to take a “safety first” approach, experts have said.

Natasha Ednan-laperouse went into cardiac arrest on a flight to Nice in July 2016 after eating a baguette bought from Pret a Manger at Heathrow Airport. She died later the same day.

The product contained sesame seeds that were not listed in the ingredients, triggering an extreme allergic reaction.

In the wake of her death, alerts about unsafe food products, leading to recalls, rose by 40 per cent last year, from 145 to 203, according to Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), the law firm.

There was a record 110 food recalls related to allergy risks, a rise of 31 per cent on the previous 12 months.

Nick Mcmahon, the head of health and safety at RPC, said: “Publicity around recent deaths due to unlabelled allergens in food has helped contribute to a more ‘safety-first’ approach among businesses.

“The Government is also scrutinising the area, and is consulting specifically on new legislation intended to tighten up labelling requirements for allergens … That could trigger even more food recalls in the future.”

Foods recalled in the past year have included vegetable spring rolls that contained undeclared traces of seafood, and stracciatella ice cream with traces of nuts.

A consultation by the Food Standards Agency concluded that businesses should improve their product safety standards and reporting procedures.