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Professional dancer in New York dies after eating cookies with undeclared peanuts
A professional dancer in New York died after consuming a Stew Leonard's holiday cookie that was mislabeled containing peanuts.
In an unfortunate incident, a 25-year-old professional dancer in New York died after consuming a Stew Leonard's holiday cookie that was mislabeled containing peanuts.
After eating a Vanilla Florentine cookie on January 11, Órla Baxendale experienced a severe allergic reaction that sent her into anaphylactic shock, according to a statement made by Attorney Marijo Adimey on Wednesday.
The confection was consumed by UK native Baxendale at a Connecticut social event, as per News 12. She had participated in dance productions at the Lincoln Center and given performances during New York Fashion Week.
The statement claims that peanuts are an ingredient in the cookies, and the manufacturer did not tell Stew Leonard's about this.
“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,” Adimey said.
“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.”
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection collaborated with Stew Leonard's to remove all baked goods made by Cookies United from all of Stew Leonard's Connecticut locations as a precaution.
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Stew Leonard & Cookies United blame each other
Meanwhile, the president and CEO of Stew Leonard's said this has never happened before, adding that they purchased the cookies from a Long Island bakery, but they were unaware that the ingredients in their Vanilla Florentine Cookies had changed.
“Unfortunately, we are buying these cookies from a company who never told us they changed the ingredients. We sold them in good faith and one customer was affected. We were devastated to learn this news and our family is sending our deepest condolences,” the CEO said in a statement.
The wholesaler, Cookies United, however, claimed they did inform about the change in ingredients months before Baxendale’s death.
“Stew Leonard’s claimed in an earlier press release that “the cookies contain peanuts, which was an ingredient not disclosed to Stew Leonard’s by the manufacturer,’” United Cookies wrote in a statement Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, considering the tragedy of these circumstances, we need to point out that Stew Leonard’s was notified by Cookies United in July of 2023 that this product now contains peanuts, and all products shipped to them have been labeled accordingly.”
Expressing deep sympathies with the deceased's family, Cookies United said they “have been cooperating with the New York State Department of Agriculture and have been informed we are in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations relating to this product.”
DCP Commissioner calls the tragedy 'heartbreaking'
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Food, Standards and Product Safety Division (DCP) shared that they are probing the mishap with officials in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, the Food and Drug Administration, and Stew Leonard’s.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy that should never have happened,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli in a statement, adding that they will conduct a through investigation and prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.”
