NATASHA’S LAW ‘IN PLACE BY SUMMER’
THE Government will launch a food-labelling “Natasha’s Law” to honour a young girl who died after eating a Pret a Manger sandwich.
The crackdown on poor labelling comes next summer, Natasha EdnanLaperouse’s parents were told by Environment Secretary Michael Gove.
The 15-year-old, of Fulham, West London, collapsed on a flight to Nice in 2016 after eating a Pret sandwich with no warning it contained sesame seeds, to which she was allergic. She died in hospital within hours. Natasha’s father Nadim said of the meeting: “It was so positive we were taken by surprise. We are moving to a tipping point... a fundamental point for things to actually change.”
He and wife Tanya want it to be law for all pre-packaged products to label allergens. Mr Gove told them he expects legislation to be in place by the summer but wants large firms to start labelling “as soon as possible”.
Tanya said. “He said, no one should ever suffer a death such as Natasha’s that could be so easily avoided.” Pret has announced its labels will list all ingredients, including allergens. Celia Marsh, 42, also suffered allergic reactions to Pret products when she died in 2017, it emerged this month.