The labeling on a sandwich eaten by a 15-year-old girl who later died from an allergic reaction was “inadequate,” a UK medical coroner has said.
The coroner found that Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who fell ill on a British Airways flight to Nice, died of anaphylactic shock, the Press Association reported.
The teenager bought the olive tapenade and artichoke French bread sandwich from a branch of the international Pret a Manger fast food chain at Heathrow airport in London before boarding the flight in July 2016.
The coroner, Sean Cummings, said the baguette contained sesame, to which she was allergic. “There was no specific allergen information on the baguette packaging or on the (food display cabinet) and Natasha was reassured by that,” he ruled.
Around 25 minutes into the flight Natasha’s throat became itchy, her face went red and then hives appeared on her body, the coroner said.
Her father gave her two doses of the adrenaline injection pen, Epipen, which is used to treat severe and life-threatening allergic reactions, but the teenager’s condition continued to deteriorate.
She said “daddy, help me, I can’t breathe”, the coroner wrote. Oxygen was provided but Natasha lost consciousness.
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SOURCE: CNN, Hilary Clarke