Stew Leonard’s Supermarket Under Fire After Woman Dies from Allergic Reaction
A tragic incident has brought attention to the importance of proper labeling and disclosure of ingredients in food products. Órla Baxendale, a 25-year-old professional dancer, passed away after suffering an anaphylactic shock when she consumed a mislabeled Christmas cookie with peanuts purchased at Stew Leonard’s supermarket in New York.
The cookie, a vanilla Florentine biscuit, did not disclose the presence of peanuts, causing the severe allergic reaction. According to attorney Marijo Adimey, the product, manufactured by Cookies United and sold by Stew Leonard’s, did not reveal the presence of peanuts, leading to this tragic event.
The investigation into Baxendale’s death revealed “gross negligence and reckless conduct” on the part of the manufacturer and/or sellers. Cookies United claimed to have notified Stew Leonard’s in July 2023 about the inclusion of peanuts in the product, indicating that all shipments were labeled accordingly. Stew Leonard’s, on the other hand, attributed the incident to a lack of information from the Long Island bakery, where they source the cookies, about a change in the ingredients of vanilla Florentine cookies.
Following the incident, Stew Leonard’s issued a recall on the product and stated that it was only sold at the Danbury and Newington locations. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Division of Food, Regulatory and Product Safety (DCP) is currently investigating the incident in collaboration with authorities in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Punita Ponda, associate chief of the division of allergy and immunology at Northwell Health, emphasized the importance of checking labels to avoid accidental exposures to allergens and highlighted the need to carry an EpiPen in food exposure situations.
The tragic death of Baxendale serves as a reminder of the potentially life-threatening consequences of mislabeled food products and the need for transparent information in the food industry.