Pret death: Father attacks chain saying daughter forced to 'play Russian roulette' with her life

The father of a girl who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger sandwich has accused the company and the government of playing “Russian roulette” with her life.

Nadim Ednan-Laperouse said the death of his daughter Natasha, 15, should be a “watershed moment” that prompts life-saving changes in food labelling laws.

The teenager, who was allergic to sesame, died after eating an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette that did not list the ingredient on its packaging.

She collapsed on a British Airways flight from London to Nice after buying the sandwich from Pret A Manger in Heathrow Terminal 5 before travelling ahead of a four-day holiday with her father and her best friend.

Concluding an inquest into her death, coroner Dr Sean Cummings said on Friday he would write to the government to raise concerns about “inadequate” food labelling regulations.

Following the hearing, Mr Ednan-Laperouse, 53, said his “beloved daughter died in a tragedy that should never have happened”.

Speaking outside West London Coroner’s Court alongside his wife Tanya, 51, and son Alex, 15, he added: “We believe that the inquest has shown that she died because of inadequate food labelling laws.

“We were also shocked to learn that there have been a number of previous serious allergic incidents, involving sesame seeds in Pret A Manger food, before our daughter died.

“It feels to us that if Pret A Manger were following the law, then the law was playing Russian roulette with our daughter’s life.

“It is clear that food labelling laws as they stand are not fit for purpose and it is now time for the law to change. Natasha’s inquest should serve as a watershed moment to make meaningful change to save lives.”

Recording a narrative conclusion, Dr Cummings said Natasha had been “reassured” by the absence of specific allergen information on the baguette’s packaging or display cabinet when she bought the sandwich on 17 July 2016.

The teenager died of anaphylaxis caused by sesame seeds baked into the bread. The allergen caused her throat to tighten and vicious red hives to flare up across her midriff, before triggering cardiac arrest.

Her father, who was on the flight, jabbed two EpiPens into her legs but the symptoms did not abate and she was declared dead later that day day at a hospital in Nice.

Dr Cummings said he would write to Michael Gove, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, about the case. The coroner questioned why large businesses should be able to benefit from regulations which permit reduced allergen warnings on freshly made products.

“The law as it stands currently treats multinational companies in the same way as the local sandwich shop. This cannot be right,” said lawyer Jill Paterson of negligence specialists Leigh Day, which represented Natasha’s family.

She called on Mr Gove to “take immediate action in response to the coroner’s report”.

At the time of Natasha’s death, Pret relied on stickers on food display units highlighting that allergy information was available by asking staff or visiting the company’s website.

Although regulators assessed the arrangement as being within the law, the coroner said: “I am of the view that they were inadequate in terms of visibility”.

During the inquest, it also emerged that Pret had received a “specific warning” about the dangers of not highlighting sandwiches contained sesame the year before Natasha died.

The company’s complaint log showed nine cases of sesame-related allergy incidents between 17 July 2015 and 29 June 2016

Four of these led to customers seeking hospital treatment, while another went to a medical centre.

Dr Cummings said measures taken so far by Pret to collect information on allergic reactions and respond to serious concerns were “insufficient”.

He added: “Overall I am left with the impression that Pret had not addressed the fact that monitoring food allergy in a business selling more than 200 million items a year was something to be taken very seriously indeed.”

Clive Schlee, chief executive of Pret A Manger, said: “We are deeply sorry for Natasha’s death. We cannot begin to comprehend the pain her family have gone through and the grief they continue to feel.

“We have heard everything the coroner and Natasha’s family have said this week. And we will learn from this.

“All of us at Pret want to see meaningful change come from this tragedy. We will make sure that it does.”

Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour Party, accused large food companies of failing to show responsibility for the welfare of their customers.

He said: “As politicians it is now incumbent on us to ensure that food retailers and producers serve their customers’ interests by offering full disclosure of information on the 14 allergens.

“I would hope that the industry is capable of putting its own house in order. But reality tells me otherwise.

“That is why we need to address the law on food labelling, review the cosy relationship between big corporations and their licensing authorities, and challenge the Food Standards Agency to police rather than simply administer the industry.”

Labour MP Jon Cruddas, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Allergy, said there were “many lessons to be learned from Natasha’s death”.

“It is clear that the law must also be redressed so that no family has to endure what Natasha’s family has endured because of lax regulation,” he added.

The Independent has asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for comment.