to think that Pret are responsible for this young woman's death

[brizzledrizzle]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45617845

A 15 year old with a sesame allergy died after eating a sandwich from Pret a manger; the company confirmed that 'its products were not individually labelled with allergen or ingredient information.' (missing apostrophe not mine)

I think it's appalling that they don't label products and pretty stupid to bake baguettes with sesame seeds inside if you aren't going to make it very obvious on the packaging that they contain sesame seeds. The government website says that they must be on the packaging because of allergies.

The case I had in Morrisons btw with an incomplete list of ingredients was definetely missing ingredients. It wasn’t just a case of it said “ham and cheese” and I thought that’s all it had.

The list was more like. .....ham, cheese, butter, milk, e152, lettuce, stabilisers, flour, gluten.

I’m making some of the above up as I can’t remmber it but it was that level of detail. It sounds like the Pret sandwich was similar?? If that’s the case then it’s really bad. If there’s no ingredients listed you wouldn’t risk it if you have an allergy. You’ll buy the Ginsters sausage roll instead even if it’s the last thing you want. But you’re falsely reassured by thinking they’ve listed everything.

People saying Pret labels things now are missing the point that this was two years ago. I have a similar allergy and got caught around three years ago by a roll I bought from there that I thought had cream cheese in, but it turned out to be hummus. There was nothing on the label that could have warned me, and I didn't see any notices telling me I could ask about allergies.I was seriously unwell, but fortunately my allergy isn't as bad as this girl's.

I just watched coverage of the inquest on C4 news. I can't imagine how those parents felt hearing that doors took priority over a defibrillator.

YANBU.

There really needs to be more research into allergies, both their causes and treatments.

I imagine we will probably end up in a situation where practically all foodstuffs are labeled as possibly containing nut traces, so that manufacturers are covered, making food choices very difficult for the growing number of people with allergies

I think probably what will happen after this case is that things will become more difficult for allergy sufferers. Companies will simply avoid doing any labelling at all, in case they forget to update it, and will have massive disclaimer notices that all products may contain traces of nuts.

Originally I thought that this was a tragic accident, and that, given their policy at the time of labels on shelves, and allergy info available at the till, Pret were not at fault.

However, I read in the paper yesterday that there had been several instances of allergic reactions to the sesame in that particular bread before this poor girl's fatal reaction to it, and Pret were informed about them - and that, to my mind, does change things.

If this is true, Pret should admit responsibility for this girl's death.

If my understanding is correct, independent shops are exempt from having to labelling. If they're making things on site, aren't they the very ones who should be able to tell you what exactly is in the food ?
I have just finished reading reports of yesterday's proceedings in the newspapers. I just want to give you her parents a big hug. Imagine having to heat 'doors to manual' was more important than getting a defibrillator? The ultimate jobsworths.

The inquest will surely return a verdict of accidental death, but may make a recommendation for change of procedures at Pret, or for food handling in general.

It doesn't seem that Pret have fallen foul of any legislation so I doubt there would be a criminal charge to answer. The parents will then have to decide whether they want to bring a civil case, based on the coroner's recommendations.

Pret are a multinational company who were taking advantage of a loophole meant for small independent shops. There had been at least 9 instances before. I’m not sure I would have expected to need to check the ingredients on one of their sandwiches for my child who has a sesame allergy. I would think of them more on a par with a roll from a supermarket.
However, having seen what I believe is a picture of the roll in question I probably would not have bought it as it does look like there is something other than plain flour in the roll. We now have a policy of plain white bread only. Even then most bread roll products will say ‘may contain’.

I did like what the Hillingdon food inspector said. She clearly thinks Pret were avoiding their moral responsibilities by using the regulations designed for small businesses.

I certainly think they should have been clearer on the ingredients. Their processes shouldn't all turn on whether an individual had stuck labels on the fridge, there should be some permanent signage as there is too much room for human error.

I didn't realise there wasn't any other labelling other than the stickers that were supposed to be there, so they may have breached the legislation. I don't really know that much about the area, and am not sure whether there will be enough for the coroner to ascribe neglect to the verdict, even so.

The behaviour of the BA crew was staggering.

The sad thing is if she’d just eaten the Pret sandwich and not been getting on a plane, she likely would have survived.

Heartbreaking story. Responding to a couple of comments about the lack of defib...this almost certainly won't have made any difference to the outcome. Anaphylaxis is one of the causes of cardiac arrest that is most likely to result in a non-shockable rhythm and for which the management is adrenaline and chest compressions not electricity.

Oh was that the same case? I thought it was a different story. What a terrible series of events, and how awful that the epipens didn't work.

They did work, but the effects only last for 10-20 minutes. As Tatiana said, if she hadn't been on a plane they'd have had up to 40 minutes to get her to hospital. That just wasn't long enough in a plane.

Actually the effectiveness was probably counter-productive in that the pilot was told she was improving so wasn't aware of the urgency.

One thing that doesn’t seem to have been commented on much is that she had an initial allergic reaction before boarding the plane, but boarded it anyway after taking portion. That sounds like a very risky decision if you know that you suffer from a potentially fatal allergy.

As with all tragic cases like this, there has to be a number of failings that all compound into one awful outcome.

If she’d asked for the allergen book at Pret... if she hadn’t boarded after the initial reaction... if the pilot had diverted immediately... etc. I don’t think you can say one thing is to blame. It’s the whole chain of events.

I used to be cabin crew. The doors have to be manned and cabin crew have to be sitting in their allocated jump seats on descent. I’m not sure how they could have carried on doing CPR or using the defibrillator crouched in the aisle on landing. The doors have to be manned in case an emergency evacuation is required.

It’s a tragic case and we aren’t in the court, nor are we privy to all the information. It’s very easy to point fingers.

I once dealt with a passenger death on board. We followed our training and did everything we could yet the family still tried to sue the airline. As crew, we were saddened by this and would have been upset if random people on the internet called us jobsworths.

Tragic case of a Swiss cheese series of contributing effects.
thought it was a different story. What a terrible series of events, and how awful that the epipens didn't work.
As Giant Kitten sayd, the Epipens did work, but the secondary care need did not get to this poor lassie in time.
There is, as pp's have said, many misunderstadings about allergy and anaphyllaxis. Epipens (epinepherine/adrenaline) is not a cure, it just conteracts some of the symptoms, and it only works for a short time, so, in a severe reaction it will need to be repeated, and other treatments given, to support the person until the anaphylaxis subsides.
And reaction to allergens can vary or start spontaneously. Allergy is a very serious, but also 'iffy' condition, because it doesn't always follow the same path in everyone or at every incidence of exposure to an allergen.

The doors have to be manned in case an emergency evacuation is required. The emergency evacuation is a theoretical risk. In this case there was a real emergency. There was a girl dying. How long would it have taken to get the defibrillator? What would you want them to have done if it was your family member?
I used the term jobsworth and I am not some random. I'm a concerned individual who feels compassion for a family who helplessly watch their daughter die. I can't believe how cold hearted the BA crew member was in his choice of words.

Even if you check regularlys it is not always easy to identify any allergens...trust me I know - served a roast dinner with nuts even after telling manager I had an allergy, peanut sauce serve....with chips without any mention, carbonara...with pinenuts....etc

I remember this same discussion last year I think when people were divided about airlines serving peanuts...well look what happens. Yes, they need to stop serving them on flights end of.

I agree @misseliza

MissEliza - it’s easy to judge. None of us was there and we aren’t privy to the entire details of the inquest.