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Pret a Manger criticised and Gove urged to act after teenager's death Pret a Manger allergy death: inquest is ‘watershed moment’
(about 2 hours later)
A coroner has said he will write to Michael Gove to suggest he considers changing food labelling regulations to prevent another incident like the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse. The father of a teenager with multiple food allergies who collapsed on a British Airways flight has described the inquest into her death as a “watershed moment”, which should prompt a change in law to save the lives of others.
Natasha, 15, from Fulham, south-west London, collapsed on a British Airways flight from London to Nice on 17 July 2016 after eating an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she had bought from Pret a Manger in Heathrow airport’s Terminal 5. Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, from Fulham, south-west London, collapsed on a British Airways flight from London to Nice on 17 July 2016 after eating an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she bought from Pret a Manger in Heathrow airport’s terminal 5.
The baguette did not have any allergen advice on its wrapper. Reduced labelling requirements for food produced on site meant it was sufficient for general allergen warnings, instructing customers to consult staff for advice, to be posted around the shop. The baguette did not have any allergen advice on its wrapper. Reduced labelling requirements for food produced on site meant it was sufficient for general allergen warnings, instructing customers to consult staff for advice, to be posted around the shop. The inquest heard that such regulations were designed to benefit small sandwich shops which make food in front of the customer. On Friday, recording that Natasha died as a result of a “catastrophic anaphylactic reaction from which she could not be saved”, Dr Sean Cummings, the acting senior coroner for west London said he would be writing to the environment secretary, Michael Gove, urging him to review the regulation in question and specifically “whether large food business operators should benefit”.
Recording that Natasha died as a result of a “catastrophic anaphylactic reaction from which she could not be saved”, Dr Sean Cummings, the acting senior coroner for west London, said on Friday that he would write to Gove, the secretary for environment, food and rural affairs, recommending that food information regulations be changed. Speaking outside the court afterwards, Natasha’s father, Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, who was with her on the flight, said the inquest showed the law was not fit for purpose.
He also criticised Pret for not taking allergen monitoring seriously. Standing alongside Natasha’s mother, Tanya, and 15-year-old brother, Alex, as the family held a framed photograph of Natasha, he said: “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’s clear that the food labelling laws as they stand today are not fit for purpose and it is now time to change the law. Natasha’s inquest should serve as a watershed moment to make meaningful change and to save lives.”
Dr Thomas Pearson-Jones attended to Natasha during the flight after BA staff made a request for medical help, but the cabin crew did not tell him a defibrillator was onboard. Cummings described this as an “omission” but said he did not think it had made a material difference to the outcome. The coroner had strong words for Pret, criticising its labelling and monitoring of customers who had suffered allergic reactions.
Cummings also made recommendations with respect to the length of EpiPens. Dr Alex Croom, a consultant allergist, told the court on Thursday that the two EpiPens that Natasha carried, and which were administered on the plane by her father, Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, may have been ineffective because the 16mm needles were too short and may not have reached her muscle. Natasha’s father had told the inquest that no stickers warning about allergens were visible in the store and Cummings said that signs displayed on langars (refrigerated display cabinets) were “difficult to see … I am of the view that they were inadequate in terms of visibility”.
Cummings said the guidance of the Resuscitation Council, which is that EpiPens should be 25mm, should be adopted as standard. The inquest which lasted four days, heard earlier this week, that Pret a Manger had nine cases of similar allergic reactions in the year before Natasha died but Cummings said its system for monitoring such incidents was “inconsistent and incoherent”.
Natasha suffered from a number of food allergies, including to dairy, eggs, nuts and seeds. She also had asthma. He said: “Overall I was 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.”
Cummings said Natasha had a number of trips planned for the summer and was “excited at what she was hoping to be her best summer ever”. Along with the report to Gove, Cummings said he would write to Pret “in relation to collecting information on allergic reactions and responding to serious concerns”. He said that although he had heard evidence the chain had made some changes, he considered them insufficient.
During the inquest Natasha’s father described how she implored him: “Daddy, help me, I can’t breathe,” before collapsing during the flight. Later, as she lay in hospital in Nice and he was told she would not survive, he said he had raised the phone to her ear so that her mother and brother could say goodbye, and he cut off a lock of her hair to keep. Clive Schlee, chief executive of Pret a Manger said the company was deeply sorry for Natasha’s death and vowed to learn from the inquest. “All of us at Pret want to see meaningful change come from this tragedy,” he said. “We will make sure that it does.”
Cummings said his letter to Gove “would be in relation to considering whether large food business operators should benefit from regulation 5 food information regulations”. A third report to prevent future deaths will be sent to the medicines regulator, the MHRA, and the manufacturer of Epi pens amid concerns that they may be too short to penetrate the muscle on all individuals and contain an inadequate dose of adrenaline to ensure they are effective for everyone.
The coroner said signs relating to allergens displayed by Pret on its refrigerated display cabinets were “difficult to see … I am of the view that they were inadequate in terms of visibility”. Cummings said that a failure by BA staff to tell a passenger Dr Thomas Pearson-Jones, who attended to Natasha on the plane, that there was a defibrillator on board was an “omission” but did not make a material difference to the outcome and praised the newly qualified doctor and cabin crew manager Mario Ballestri for their response.
The inquest, which lasted four days, heard this week that Pret a Manger had nine cases of similar allergic reactions in the year before Natasha died. Cummings said its system for monitoring such incidents was “inconsistent and incoherent”. The coroner said Natasha had a number of trips planned for the summer when she boarded BA flight 342 and was “excited at what she was hoping to be her best summer ever”.
He said: “Overall I was left with the impression that Pret had not addressed the fact that monitoring food allergy in a business selling more than 200m items a year was something to be taken very seriously indeed.” During the inquest, Natasha’s father described how she implored him: “Daddy, help me, I can’t breathe,” before collapsing during the flight. Later, as she lay in hospital in Nice and he was told she would not survive, he said he had raised the phone to her ear so that her mother and brother could say goodbye, and he cut off a lock of her hair to keep.
Addressing Nadim Ednan-Laperouse at the end of the inquest, Cummings offered his condolences and said: “I can’t imagine what it was like for you on that plane.” Ednan-Laperouse, weeping, replied: “Terrible.”
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