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| Pret inquest: Baguette allergy alerts before girl's death | Pret inquest: Baguette allergy alerts before girl's death |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Pret A Manger did not label "artisan" baguettes as containing sesame seeds despite six allergic reaction cases in the year before a girl died, an inquest has heard. | Pret A Manger did not label "artisan" baguettes as containing sesame seeds despite six allergic reaction cases in the year before a girl died, an inquest has heard. |
| Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, reacted to the sesame in the outlet's baguette which she bought at Heathrow Airport before flying to France in July 2016. | |
| She collapsed on the flight, suffered a cardiac arrest and died within hours. | She collapsed on the flight, suffered a cardiac arrest and died within hours. |
| A Pret A Manger representative said allergen policy had since been changed. | A Pret A Manger representative said allergen policy had since been changed. |
| There were nine cases of sesame-related allergy incidents in the year before Natasha died, including six that involved "artisan baguettes", according to a complaint log for the company. | There were nine cases of sesame-related allergy incidents in the year before Natasha died, including six that involved "artisan baguettes", according to a complaint log for the company. |
| 'Warning' | 'Warning' |
| In one of these cases a woman nearly died after suffering an anaphylactic reaction from a baguette in October 2015, West London Coroner's Court heard. | In one of these cases a woman nearly died after suffering an anaphylactic reaction from a baguette in October 2015, West London Coroner's Court heard. |
| Jeremy Hyam QC said the customer's family afterwards gave Pret A Manger a "specific warning", but the chain still failed to label sandwiches with allergy information. | Jeremy Hyam QC said the customer's family afterwards gave Pret A Manger a "specific warning", but the chain still failed to label sandwiches with allergy information. |
| The firm's head of Risk and Compliance, Jonathan Perkins, said Pret reviewed its warning notices in April 2016. | The firm's head of Risk and Compliance, Jonathan Perkins, said Pret reviewed its warning notices in April 2016. |
| "When we get it wrong, we like to put it right," Mr Perkins said. | "When we get it wrong, we like to put it right," Mr Perkins said. |
| Natasha, from Fulham in west London, had just finished school for the summer and was on her way to Nice for a four-day "special treat" with her best friend, Bethany, and her father. | Natasha, from Fulham in west London, had just finished school for the summer and was on her way to Nice for a four-day "special treat" with her best friend, Bethany, and her father. |
| The teenager, who suffered from numerous allergies, bought the artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette from a Pret branch at the airport's Terminal 5. | The teenager, who suffered from numerous allergies, bought the artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette from a Pret branch at the airport's Terminal 5. |
| She became ill 20 minutes into the flight before pleading with her father to help her. | She became ill 20 minutes into the flight before pleading with her father to help her. |
| Nadim Ednan-Laperouse described the "agony" of putting a phone to his daughter's ear so that his wife and son could say goodbye to her when he realised she might not survive. | Nadim Ednan-Laperouse described the "agony" of putting a phone to his daughter's ear so that his wife and son could say goodbye to her when he realised she might not survive. |
| Mr Hyam said: "There was a clear concern being repeatedly raised that artisan baguettes were causing sesame seed allergy problems, which were not properly responded to by Pret." | Mr Hyam said: "There was a clear concern being repeatedly raised that artisan baguettes were causing sesame seed allergy problems, which were not properly responded to by Pret." |
| Mr Perkins replied: "We responded appropriately to each individual complaint at the time." | Mr Perkins replied: "We responded appropriately to each individual complaint at the time." |
| Food regulations do not require eateries like Pret, where food is handmade and packaged on the premises, to put allergen information on each individual food item. | |
| Pret opts to provide the information orally and is supposed to have stickers within fridges telling customers to ask staff members for details. | |
| Mr Hyam suggested Pret's approach lacked consistency, as it labelled some products "gluten free" and gave ingredient outlines on fridge shelves. | |
| A photo of the branch where Natasha bought her sandwich, taken eight days after her death, appeared to show a fridge without the allergy sticker. | |
| Mr Ednan-Laperouse claims there was no label on the fridge the day Natasha died. | |
| The general manager of the branch at the time said on Monday that he was "confident and sure" he had put stickers on the tills and fridges - but the court heard a health officer from Hillingdon Council visited in May 2017 and reported "no till stickers to be seen at the till area". | |
| The inquest is expected to last until Friday. | The inquest is expected to last until Friday. |