Allergy death shows labelling legislation is falling short

Society needs to get more serious about allergies. Many questions remain as the inquest into the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse – who collapsed on a British Airways flight from London to Nice after eating a Pret a Manger baguette – draws to a close. But one thing has become abundantly clear. More must be done to protect people suffering with severe food allergies when they eat out.

The inquest at West London Coroner’s Court heard the artichoke, olive & tapenade baguette the teenager bought at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 and ate shortly before boarding the flight did not have any allergen advice on its wrapper, despite a label listing some of the ingredients.

Which seems shocking. But there is no legal requirement for eateries that produce food on site to label individual products with allergen information. Instead, it is sufficient for allergen warnings to be posted around the shop, and for advice to be given by staff.

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As acting senior coroner Dr Sean Cummings suggested during the inquest, this loophole – which allows Pret to avoid the stricter allergen labelling requirements faced by supermarkets on pre-packed food – was no doubt intended to reduce the burden of regulation on smaller businesses like local sandwich shops, not a multimillion-pound chain.

That Pret reportedly had six complaints about similar allergic reactions to its baguettes in the year before the teenager’s death also raises some serious questions as to why it didn’t make it clearer sesame seeds were baked into the dough.

But according to Hillingdon Council food safety officer Bridget Saunders, who visited the Pret branch five months before Ednan-Laperouse’s death, there were no issues with its provision of allergy information from a compliance standpoint.

This suggests the onus for change shouldn’t all be on Pret. The legislation as it stands is clearly falling short.

Defra needs to look again at the laws urgently, and have a long, hard think about what more can be done to protect the estimated two million people living with a diagnosed food allergy in the UK – many of whom are putting their lives in the hands of others every time they eat out.