Pret to improve food labelling after allergy death
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, went in to cardiac arrest after eating an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette bought from a Pret store at Heathrow Airport in 2016.
She was allergic to sesame, but an inquest heard Pret did not label its ‘artisan’ baguettes as containing sesame seeds.
Writing in a blog post Pret CEO Clive Schlee says the company is “deeply sorry” and wanted to enact “meaningful change”.
From next month Pret will begin using prominent allergen warning stickers on all freshly made products, introduce additional signs in shops, and make “full ingredient information” available online and in store.
“I hope this sets us on course to drive change in the industry and ensure customers with allergies are as protected and informed as possible,” says Schlee. “Nothing is more important to Pret right now.”
Under current UK regulations freshly made foods packaged on site do not require allergens to be individually labelled.
