A professional dancer in New York City, USA, passed away after consuming a holiday cookie from the well-known grocery Stew Leonard’s that was mislabeled and included peanuts. The distributor and the retailer are now holding each other accountable for the tragedy.
Órla Baxendale, 25, suffered a severe allergic response to a Vanilla Florentine cookie on January 11 and fell into anaphylactic shock, according to a statement released by the law firm representing her family on Wednesday, January 24.
Attorney Marijo Adimey stated in the statement that “Órla’s passing stemmed from an unfortunate incident involving the consumption of a cookie manufactured by Cookies United and sold by Stew Leonard’s, which contained undisclosed peanuts.”
“This tragic oversight has led to the recall of the Vanilla Florentine Cookies from Stew Leonard’s stores in Danbury and Newington, CT, for the period of November 6 – December 31, 2023.”
Adimey claimed that Baxendale’s death inquiry had shown “gross negligence and reckless conduct of the manufacturer and/or sellers” for failing to disclose that the cookies included peanuts on their packaging.
The lawyer said, “This devastating yet preventable outcome has been caused by this failure in proper disclosure.”
According to the school’s website, the woman from Manchester, England, relocated to New York City in 2018 to attend the Ailey School on scholarship.
Baxendale had participated in dance productions at Lincoln Center and given performances during New York Fashion Week.
“My family and I are here, and we are all really upset and in shock. One of my four daughters is twenty years old. How that family feels right now,” Company CEO Stew Leonard told News 12
However, the wholesaler, Cookies United, asserted that months prior to Baxendale’s passing, it had disclosed the altered ingredients to the local grocery chain.
“The cookies contain peanuts, which was an ingredient not disclosed to Stew Leonard’s by the manufacturer,” as stated by Stew Leonard’s in a previous news release, according to a statement released by United Cookies on Tuesday.
“Sadly, given the tragic nature of these events, we must mention that Stew Leonard’s was informed by Cookies United in July 2023 that this product now contains peanuts, and all shipments to them have been appropriately labeled.”
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