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.

Bombardier - so I can never buy anything, because anything might in a rare case have a trace of nuts in?

I’m not entitled to know what foods have nuts as an ingredient because of the uncertainty of the universe?

With some common sense FFs the poor child died. Show a bit of sensitivity.

& then there was Sadie Bristow who sadly died earlier this month.

She had known dairy & nut allergies, carefully managed, & they don't actually know what triggered her reaction. She had been in a cafe though - maybe she just touched something?

These severe allergies are horrible things.

www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/shock-as-tennis-talent-nine-dies-from-allergic-reaction-189300/

Saying: nothing here is suitable for you is basically saying: we don’t want your business as you are too risky

Yes, and that may be the responsible answer.

I don’t think any one person is at fault here. It was an unfortunate series of events.

There have been threads earlier this year complaining about nut bans on planes. This tragedy shows exactly why it’s so dangerous to have an anaphylactic reaction on a plane.

It was just a tragic tragic accident. No one deliberately did anything.

As a grandmother of 2 grandchildren with a serious allergy, I never let them eat anything when they're with me that I haven't prepared myself. I've seen the consequences of them eating something they shouldn't have, and it's terrifying.

Okay, maybe I’m missing something here but if she was so allergic to sesame and already knew this enough to worry about allergens why wasn’t she carrying an epi pen? I have an anaphylactic response to oranges so I check everything and am super cautious but once had a severe reaction to a brownie which turned out to be made with olive oil with mandarin extract. I’ve carried an epi pen everywhere since I was eight years old.

The article says that her father administered two epi pens

Never mind, I see that she had two injections. The other article id read didn’t mention that. Seems a bit odd.

What a frustrating thread!

Prêt are apparently within the law but outside ethical boundaries. If they are permitted to be sloppy on labelling for goods cooked in certain conditions, they should not bake highly allergenic ingredients into those products, The law is deficient and Pret is also.

I don't think pret or anyone is to blame

What would happen if someone had a stray sesame seed stuck on their hand...they used same door handle..... seed got transferred, hand found her way in her mouth ....

Awful, but the truth is she could have ingested her allergen at any time

So her father was with her?

DD has a nut allergy. This has really scared me as she checks labels and presumes she is safe if not listed as an ingredient or as a may contain.

The grammar thing is passive aggressive bullshit.

Poor young girl.

If you have an allergy why would you eat something without checking

She checked the label. Since when does baguette contain sesame?

This has really scared me as she checks labels and presumes she is safe if not listed as an ingredient or as a may contain.

I think that’s ok if you’re buying from major supermarkets.

But generally I wouldn’t ever assume you were safe on the basis of a label because you can’t be sure it’s reliable.

How can she live her life then Tatiana?

It seems most of the pret baguettes contain sesame inside the bread. Unusual choice of recipe imo. They should make this information explicit, either on the packaging or at the counter.

She checked the label.
How could she have checked the label, it didn't have one because it was freshly made that day. No label does not mean no nuts or seeds.

She was given two epipens, they dont always work in severe reactions.

We know which foods to look out for with nuts. She never has Asian takeaway, certain cakes etc. Aldi milk chocolate had hazelnut paste in it for example.
She would feel safe to eat a chip until Five guys fry in peanut oil!!! It's very scary now she is a teen and I have less control.

It’s absolutely tragic but at the same time I’m not sure I think Pret are wholly to blame.

I developed an allergy to sesame seeds age 10. I never ever eat bread from places like Pret or supermarket bakeries because if they produce even one product with sesame seeds, those bastards get absolutely everywhere. Any time I’ve bought something from a place like that there’s always at least one or two rogue seeds stuck to it somewhere.

Having said that, I have no idea why they’d bake sesame seeds inside bread.

No label does not mean no nuts or seeds.

I get that but I have never heard of bread containing sesame. Seeds stuck on the outside, yeas but not in the flour!

Most peanut allergy sufferers can eat eat peanut oil as long as it’s refined rather than the hand pressed artisan type stuff.
www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Peanut-Oil-Allergy-Factsheet-Nov-2017.pdf

I can eat Five Guys fries (thank god).