A young woman named Órla Baxendale, who was 25 years old, passed away in Connecticut. She had a bad reaction called anaphylactic shock after eating a cookie that had the wrong label on it.
A 25-year-old woman named Órla Baxendale, who lived in the US, died from a severe allergic reaction after eating a cookie from Stew Leonard’s grocery store. The cookie didn’t say it had peanuts, which caused her reaction.
Stew Leonard’s is recalling its vanilla and chocolate Florentine cookies because they contain peanuts and eggs, not mentioned on the label. These cookies were sold in Danbury and Newington, Connecticut, in 2023.
Órla Baxendale, originally from England, moved to the US in 2018. She died on January 11, 2024, after eating the cookie from Stew Leonard’s, even after using her EpiPen.
The cookies were sold in Connecticut until the end of 2023. Lawyers for Baxendale blame the manufacturer and sellers for not properly labeling the cookies.
Stew Leonard Jr., the company’s CEO, said they weren’t told about the recipe change that added peanuts to the cookies.
Stew Leonard’s is working with authorities and the supplier to find out why the labels were wrong.
Recently, a British man also died from an allergic reaction to pizza he ordered online.
Liljia Polo-Richards, from Allergy Companions, says the food industry needs to do more to prevent allergic reactions and communicate better with customers.