Parents of Pret allergy death teenager set up clinical trial to find treatment

THE parents of a teenager who died from an allergic reaction to a Pret baguette have set up a groundbreaking trial with the aim of “making food allergies history”.

Tanya and Nadim Ednan-laperouse launched the trial to investigate whether commonly available peanut and milk products, taken under medical supervision, can be used as a treatment for people with food allergies.

The couple’s 15-year-old daughter Natasha died in 2016 after she suffered a severe allergic reaction to sesame in a Pret baguette.

Natasha had bought the artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette from the Pret store at Heathrow Airport before a flight to Nice with her father.

The sandwich did not have any allergen advice on its wrapper because, as it was made on the premises, this was not required by law.

In October 2021, a new food safety law – known as “Natasha’s Law” – was brought in requiring full ingredient and allergen labelling on all food made on the premises.

The new, three-year, oral immunotherapy (OIT) trial hopes to show that people with food allergies may no longer have to avoid foods with small amounts of allergens due to production.

The study will recruit 216 people between the ages of three and 23 with an allergy to cow’s milk, and aged six to 23 with an allergy to peanuts.