2ND PRET ALLERGY FATALITY IS PROBED
Tragedy linked to ‘dairy-free’ yoghurt
AN investigation is under way after the death of a second customer suspected of having an allergic reaction to Pret A Manger food.
The victim, who has not been named, died after eating a vegan flatbread that was supposed to be dairy-free.
It follows the death of Natasha EdnanLaperouse, 15, who suffered a severe allergic reaction caused by sesame seeds in a baguette. She fell ill on a flight from London to Nice in July 2016, and died after eating the sandwich, bought at Heathrow Airport.
The second victim collapsed and died on December 27 last year after eating a £3.75 “super-veg rainbow flat bread”.
They bought the item, labelled as vegan, at a Pret A Manger store in Bath, Somerset. It was supposed to contain Natasha with dad Nadim and, right, a ‘super-veg rainbow’ flatbread dairy-free coconut yoghurt. But tests later revealed the CoYo yoghurt used was contaminated with milk protein.
A coroner investigating the death alerted Bath and North East Somerset Council about the death on January
19. Pret alerted the Food Standards Agency and a national recall was later triggered after an investigation.
The agency warned the products were “a possible health risk” for allergy sufferers, but did not reveal the death. The chain said it had been “missold a guaranteed dairy-free yoghurt that was found to contain dairy protein”.
CoYo is supplied by Planet Coconut, in Erith, South East London. Pret said it has terminated its contract with Planet Coconut and is in the “process of taking legal action” against the firm.
CoYo said: “The claims made by Pret are unfounded. The dairy-free product we provided to Pret in December 2017, at the time of this tragedy, is not linked to the product we recalled in February.
“Pret’s inability to provide us with a batch code, despite several requests, has severely limited our ability to investigate this further.”
Natasha’s parents Nadim and Tanya said they were “incredibly saddened” to learn of the second death.