The family of British ballet dancer who died after suffering a severe allergic reaction to a cookie containing peanuts has called for EpiPens to be rolled out in schools.
Órla Baxendale, 25, originally from Helmshore, East Lancashire, but based in New York City, went into anaphylactic shock and died on January 11 after consuming vanilla Florentine cookies that contained peanuts.
Her mother, Angela, believes that while the tragedy took place in the United States, it could have easily have happened in the UK because allergies are not taken seriously enough.
According to the Sunday Times, supermarkets and manufacturers in the UK are regularly mislabelling products containing allergens such as peanuts and milk.
Data from the Foods Standards Agency’s allergy alerts shows 334 food products have been recalled from high street shops and supermarkets because of undeclared allergens in the past five years.
Órla Baxendale (pictured) went into anaphylactic shock and died on January 11
Órla (pictured) was a promising ballet dancer and enrolled at Alvin Ailey dance school in New York
Thirty-five recalls have been issued this year for products that may contain allergens not mentioned on the label.
Julie Martin, of the Amy May Trust, which raises awareness of serious nut allergies, said: ‘Manufacturer’s errors on food packaging labels are shockingly frequent, yet the potential life-changing or fatal consequences of such errors seem to be strongly underestimated within the food industry and are extremely concerning to members of the allergy community.
‘All shoppers and consumers should be wholly confident in the safety of their purchases.’
In July, a packaging error meant Waitrose was forced to recall its chocolate mini cupcakes after a small number of packs contained coffee and walnut cupcakes.
Elsewhere, Asda recalled its Extra Special sea salt and chardonnay wine vinegar crisps because some packs contained cheese and onion crisps, resulting in undeclared milk.
M&S also had to recall it’s chocolate cornflake mini bites ‘due to the undeclared presence of hazelnut, oats and wheat flour in a small number of packs.
Several types of limited edition Oreo cookies were recalled on Friday because they may contain peanut, which was not declared on the packaging.
Orla’s family are now calling for adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), commonly known by the brand name EpiPen, to be made as widely available as defibrillators in restaurants, schools and other public places.
Órla (pictured) died after she ate a cookies was not labelled correctly as containing peanuts – which she was severely allergic to
Órla was originally from Helmshore, East Lancashire, but based in New York City
Órla’s family are now calling for adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), commonly known by the brand name EpiPen (pictured), to be made as widely available as defibrillators in restaurants, schools and other public places
They have also demanded for the government to appoint an allergy tsar, to increase awareness of how to handle allergies safely, echoing the requests of Abimbola Duyile — the mother of 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs, who had a severe dairy allergy and died after drinking a Costa Coffee hot chocolate incorrectly made with cows’ milk.
These demands were also made by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse – the 15-year-old died after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich containing sesame seeds in 2016.
Angela said: ‘Órla checked every label, she educated all of her friends about her allergy, and she lost her life through no fault of her own.
‘There have been 50 young deaths since 2016 and I think there’ll be more, because people still don’t understand how harmful allergies can be.’
The calls for more AAIs to be available much more widely, particularly for schools and hospitality staff, has been echoed by charities such as the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation – which was set up in 2018.
Simone Miles, chief executive of Allergy UK, said: ‘Schools can purchase AAIs but it isn’t mandatory. We want to see schools provided with them, and with inhalers, by the government, and for there to be training with that.
‘We’d also like to see mandatory AAIs within the catering and hospitality industry. There should also be training given that is specific to different roles.’
According to a study in 2021 by Imperial College London, hospital admissions for severe allergic reactions to food have more than tripled in the past 20 years in the UK, with the largest increase seen in children under 15.
In England there were 25,721 admissions to hospital for allergies and anaphylaxis in 2022-23.
Órla’s nut allergy was first discovered by her family when she was 18 months old and eating peanut butter on toast which caused her face to swell.
She had four EpiPens spread across school and her dance academy, and carried an additional two on her person at all times.
Her friends’ parents were too anxious to invite her to parties and sleepovers because of her allergy, Angela claimed.
Órla chose Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham at 16 because it could guarantee nut-free catering.
At 18, she moved to New York when she won a scholarship to study at the Alvin Ailey dance school.
As she explored relationships, she would even check whether a partner had eaten anything containing nuts before kissing them.
The cookies which allegedly killed her were purchased from a Stew Leonard’s store in Connecticut, were subsequently recalled due to the packaging not having a peanut allergy warning.
The vanilla Florentine cookies which allegedly killed Órla were subsequently recalled due to the packaging not having a peanut allergy warning
The snack was purchased from a Stew Leonard’s store in Connecticut
Her family, in a lawsuit filed last Thursday, has now accused the grocer and manufacturer Cookies United of being ‘careless and negligent’ in causing Orla’s death.
The complaint, reviewed by DailyMail.com, states that Baxendale had a known severe peanut allergy and she, ‘like all consumers, relied upon the manufacturer and seller to properly label the package sold to the general public’.
However, the cookies she consumed ‘contained, among other things, undeclared peanuts and other known allergens’, despite not being labelled as so, according to the complaint.
The suit alleges that Cookies United failed to properly label that the Florentine cookies contained peanuts prior to distribution.
According to the suit, eleven Stew Leonard’s employees were ‘notified by email’ of the change in ingredients, including the ‘addition of peanuts to the cookie recipe in July 2023, approximately six months before Baxendale’s death.
The manufacturer then sent ‘bulk packaging’ that contained a label indicating the cookies contained allergens including peanuts in October that year.
However, Baxendale consumed a cookie that had not been properly labelled to indicate the ingredient change in January 2024.
She went into anaphylactic shock and an EpiPen was administered, but ‘due to the severity of her allergy, it was not effective’, family attorney Marijo C. Adime said in a statement at the time.
The suit accuses Stew Leonard’s of ignoring alerts from the manufacturer and alleges the store did not update product labels once it received notice of a change of ingredients.
Hannah Jacobs (pictured) had a severe dairy allergy and died after drinking a Costa Coffee hot chocolate incorrectly made with cows’ milk
Órla’s parents have demanded for the government to appoint an allergy tsar, to increase awareness of how to handle allergies safely, echoing the requests of Abimbola Duyile (pictured) — the mother of 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs
These demands were also made by Nadim Ednan-Laperouse (left) and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse (right) who received an OBE from Prince William in 2022
Natasha Ednan-Laperous (pictured) was 15-year-olds when she died after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich containing sesame seeds in 2016
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Órla Baxendale, and all those impacted by this case.
‘Department officials have been in ongoing discussions with the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation about improving support for people with allergies and ministers will carefully consider their views and any recommendations made by the coroner following the tragic death of Hannah Jacobs.’