A professional dancer in New York City died after eating an incorrectly labeled holiday cookie containing peanuts. Reports show she bought the cookie from the popular supermarket Stew Leonard’s. Following the incident, Stew Leonard’s recalled the cookies, saying they were “devastated” by the news.
The family of Orla Baxendale is mourning the death of the 25-year-old dancer. According to Baxendale’s family, she suffered from a severe nut allergy. Consequently, she died of anaphylactic shock on January 1, 2024, after suffering an allergy too severe for her EpiPen.
According to a statement by the family’s attorneys, Howard S. Hershenhorn and Marijo C. Adime, Baxendale moved to New York from East Lancashire, England. The 25-year-old dancer moved to pursue a dance career. Her family is “devastated by this unimaginable loss,” the attorneys said.
The Vanilla Florentine cookie Baxendale ate did not list peanuts among the ingredients on its label. Hence, the retail store issued a recall in partnership with the Food and Drug Administration. The store claims it sold the seasonal items at two of its three Connecticut stores.
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Stew Leonard’s said it sold them in Danbury and Newington from November to December 2023. Also, the store says the cookies had a best-by date of January 5, 2024. “Customers with nut allergies should return the product to customer service for a full refund.” the recall states.
Baxendale’s attorney criticized the retail store and manufacturer, claiming they’re both responsible. “Órla’s passing stemmed from an unfortunate incident involving the consumption of a cookie manufactured by Cookies United,” attorney Marijo Adime said in a statement. “And sold by Stew Leonard’s, which contained undisclosed peanuts.”
In addition, Adime alleged that an investigation into Baxendale’s death revealed disturbing details. He said the investigation linked Bexandale’s death to “gross negligence and reckless conduct of the manufacturer and/or sellers.” Furthermore, Adime noted that it was their fault for not stating the cookie had peanuts.
In addition, Adime claims the dancer had an EpiPen, but her allergy was too severe. “Orla was cautious and hyper-vigilant about everything she ate,” he said. Adime added that Baxendale usually checked the ingredients on all packaging.
Also, the attorney said the 25-year-old dancer surrounded herself with people who knew how to administer an EpiPen. “After she began to have an anaphylactic reaction, they used an EpiPen,” Adime said. However, he claims that the EpiPen was ineffective due to the severity of the allergy.”
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Following the complaint, the retail store and the manufacturer pointed fingers at each other. Stew Leonard’s expressed their condolences in a video statement by Stew Leonard Jr. “It’s a sad day for us. We’re just all devastated, very sad,” he said.
“I have four daughters, one of them is in their 20s. I can imagine how that family feels right now.” In addition, Leonard Jr. said the wholesaler, Cookies United, manufactured the cookies. However, he noted that Stew Leonard’s repackaged them.
Stew Leonard’s claims that the Long Island bakery did not inform it of a change of ingredients in the vanilla Florentine Cookies. “The supplier changed the recipe and started going from soy nuts to peanuts,” Leonard Jr. claimed. “And never notified our chief safety officer at Stew Leonard’s.”
However, the wholesaler, Cookies United, insists otherwise. The bakery claims it shared the change in ingredients with the regional supermarket chain months before Baxendale’s death. The bakery claims it notified Stew Leonard’s in July 2023 that the product now contains peanuts.
Also, the bakery insisted in its statement that it labeled all products shipped to Stew Leonard’s accordingly. Furthermore, the wholesaler alleges that Stew Leonard’s changed the packaging to represent the store’s brand. However, they failed to properly label the cookies as peanuts before hitting the shelves.
Consequently, officials from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the Connecticut Department of Public Health are investigating the incident.
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