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.

It's a terrible accident.

I wonder if she looked at the allergen guide online for pret. It's a pain but my sister is forced to pour over them due to her allergies.

^sorry meant to type why she didn't.

Yes yabu

Yes yabu

Interested to see if you could elaborate?

I was shocked & saddened to read many of these posts - debating grammar, blaming a young girl for ‘taking such a risk’ & defending Pret because they are socially conscious in other ways. I take it those of you making such comments don’t have loved ones with food allergies and I hope it stays that way for you. This is tragic.

This is the first time I have ever commented on a discussion & I actually had to register to be able to do so. I’d searched hoping that there would be something useful, such as people wanting to encourage the law to change, not to find heartless comments blaming a child for her death.

I believe that given Pret have over 500 stores and turnover millions each year, they have the resources to be expected to label their products individually & should do for the safety of their customers. I hope the law changes in this area & will read the news on this with interest. Why should all the people with an allergy to the one of the 14 allergens covered by law have to queue to speak to the manager. This isn’t an appropriate response, given the scale of allergies now. Allergy UK estimate that 21million adults in the UK suffer from at least one allergy (so this doesn’t even include the number of children).

I'm a restaurant manager so am responsible for dealing with allergy orders in my restaurant. I'm always shocked by the people who don't mention allergies until the food arrives. I have a mild dairy intolerance so always check the ingredients to make sure items are suitable for me. It's a PITA most of the time but I'm used to it now.

I agree with others however that this is a difficult and uncomfortable debate given that a child has died as a result.

Unihorn I agree. I have a three year old son with a peanut allergy & always ask for a manager/allergen book in restaurants. But I think there should be a difference between a restaurant & your ability to choose a takeaway sandwich with an allergy.

I don’t understand why anyone with such a serious allergy wouldn’t be absolutely fastidious about what/where they ate. Obviously it’s terrible for the poor girl but surely she was in part responsible?
I thought the same when that poor Asian chap was prosecuted when someone with a nut allergy died after eating a curry he had cooked. As I recall the chap had specified ‘no nuts’ but the chef used peanut oil (not making the connection)
Sorry but if I had a fatal allergy, I would not be eating a takeaway. Ever.

That “poor Asian chap” thoroughly deserved his prison sentence MissMisery. It was shown in court to be wilful negligence- not a genuine mistake. He knew using cheaper peanuts substitutes instead of almonds was dangerous to customers- but he continued to do so, and then deliberately lied about the dishes being peanut-free. The chap who died wasn’t the first to have a severe reaction either.

MissMisery - so people with allergies shouldn’t be eating takeaways or eating out?

So people with a medical illness shouldn’t be allOwed to participate in normal society, but resteraunts owners Should be allowed to lie about the ingredients of their food?

Perhaps blind people should just stay at home and sit in a chair because it’s dangerous to go out? Or autistic people should not be allowed in normal schools in case they find it stressful?

Honestly, some posters are so stupid I’m amazed they can manage to get dressed I. the morning 🙄

but resteraunts owners Should be allowed to lie about the ingredients of their food?

I'm a bit confused by this - my understanding was that Pret didn't put labels on the sandwiches as they were not legally required to do so and the girl tragically did not check what was in it and wrongly assumed that it would not contain sesame. I don't think there is any suggestion that Pret "lied".

If you have such a severe allergy then, FGS, why buy food you have no idea what is in it???

Well how would you ever leave the house then? She did check on the packet. The information should have been given there.

It's the law to label pre packaged products but not products made fresh on site. They cover themselves by asking the public to ask their staff about allergies. I would of thought a little logo next to the item on the menu would of been mandatory though!

She did check on the packet. The information should have been given there

Not it shouldn't have been.

And why do people keep saying that no one can say this girl bares any responsibility, because she died.

It's awful and sad and I feel for her parents. However at did hold some responsibility. Those of us with allergies do hold responsibility. That doesn't disappear because she died.

If feels like people are saying this girl can't hold any responsibility because she died. If she hadn't of died, would she be responsible?

The op wants to lay the blame at prets door. The truth is several people were responsible. But I don't think pret we're.

But she should have checked surely.

It's very sad but I do think she should have checked, when she had such a serious allergy. I don't think Pret can really be held responsible if they did have signs around advising anyone with an allergy to speak with staff.

DorasBob, I think your post is very unfair. MissMisery was just saying that if you have a serious allergy, you need to be very careful when buying ready prepared food.

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)

Not the point of the thread but definitely no apostrophe needed. I would avoid pointing out bad grammar if you don’t know it yourself...

AllyMcBeagle - I was referring to the takeaway shop owner who knowingly substituted peanut oil/flour for almond as it was cheaper, and lied about it.

The poster was saying that the ‘poor owner’ shouldn’t have been imprisoned for manslaughter as someone with an allergy shouldn’t be having a takeaway

Pret are profitable enough to put every ingredient on every wrapper. I have an allergy and have been caught out before by chefs including hidden ingredients that wouldn’t normally be there.

For example I used to buy cupcakes from a local store. The first time I bought one I asked if contained nuts, it didn’t. I bought them every week until one day they got creative and included nuts which weren’t obvious until after I’d bitten in to it. Nobody is realisticly going to ask about the same thing every time they buy it. Lots of shops don’t take allergies seriously. Also some till staff don’t have a clue what they’re selling so try and wing it or say ‘it was made near stuff made with nuts’ so they can’t be sure which means you can’t eat anything.

Unfinished kitchen - completley agree.

I think all foods sold should indicted whether they have the common allergies on them.

Especially foods that one would reasonably expect would not have the allergen in. For example, if I but a Diet Coke from somewhere, I expect it not to have nuts in, and I don’t feel it’s reasonable to have to ask. Same with chips - there’s no reason to include nuts unless it’s an experimental recipe, so I would expect it to be labelled someonewhere, as if I ask if the chips have nuts in every time I order them people would look at me like I was completley insane.

‘High risk’ foods like baked goods for a nut allergy are obviously different, I would never eat something like this without asking/checking.

It’s not unreasonable to want to know exactly what’s in your food, whether you have a serious allergy or not.

For example - I don’t really like sesame (but can eat it)

If it was in the bread of a sandwich I picked I would expect that to be in the description.

This thread is going round in circles

I read that she checked the packaging and the ticket on the shelf, aa did her father.
The defibrillator on board the flight wasn't working, nor was the suction machine and the flight wasn't redirected to a closer airport.
Poor kid, it's a terrible, terrible thing.

5 News reported the father gave evidence at the inquest that the packaging WAS labelled with the ingredients and both he and DD checked the list.
My son has grown out of his serious sesame allergy thank goodness.

5 News reported the father gave evidence at the inquest that the packaging WAS labelled with the ingredients and both he and DD checked the list.. I guess this is the point I was making earlier, I’d rather have no ingredients listed rather than incorrect listing. Then at least you can make a choice not to take a gamble, but if there’s an incomplete ingredient list you trust that it will only contain what the list says.