A coroner has said he will write to Michael Gove to suggest he considers changing food labelling regulations to prevent another incident like the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse.
Natasha, 15, from Fulham, south-west London, collapsed on a British Airways flight from London to Nice on 17 July 2016 after eating an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she had bought from Pret a Manger in Heathrow airport’s Terminal 5.
The baguette did not have any allergen advice on its wrapper. Reduced labelling requirements for food produced on site meant it was sufficient for general allergen warnings, instructing customers to consult staff for advice, to be posted around the shop.
Recording that Natasha died as a result of a “catastrophic anaphylactic reaction from which she could not be saved”, Dr Sean Cummings, the acting senior coroner for west London, said on Friday that he would write to Gove, the secretary for environment, food and rural affairs, recommending that food information regulations be changed.
He also criticised Pret for not taking allergen monitoring seriously.
Dr Thomas Pearson-Jones attended to Natasha during the flight after BA staff made a request for medical help, but the cabin crew did not tell him a defibrillator was onboard. Cummings described this as an “omission” but said he did not think it had made a material difference to the outcome.
Cummings also made recommendations with respect to the length of EpiPens. Dr Alex Croom, a consultant allergist, told the court on Thursday that the two EpiPens that Natasha carried, and which were administered on the plane by her father, Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, may have been ineffective because the 16mm needles were too short and may not have reached her muscle.
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