The maker of a supposedly dairy-free yoghurt utilized in a Pret a Manger vegan wrap has damaged down in tears as she spoke on the inquest into the demise of a girl with a extreme allergy.
Celia Marsh, 42, collapsed on the street, unable to breathe, after she ate the flatbread that had been labelled as vegan from the sandwich chain’s retailer in Bath, Somerset, on 27 December 2017.
The wrap had contained yogurt which was speculated to be vegan however was later discovered to have traces of dairy protein in it.
Mrs Marsh’s demise got here within the wake of that of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 after consuming a Pret baguette containing sesame seeds.
Avon Coroner’s Court has heard the yoghurt was produced by Planet Coconut, which is the UK producer and distributor of merchandise developed by Australia-based yoghurt firm CoYo.
Bethany Eaton, the managing director of Planet Coconut, wept as she gave proof on the mother-of-five’s inquest on Thursday.
She informed the listening to she had arrange Planet Coconut together with her husband in 2011 to fabricate dairy-free merchandise and bought a licence from CoYo founder Henry Gosling for unique UK rights.
The court docket has heard the Planet Coconut yoghurt contained few substances – primarily coconut cream and ‘HG1’ starch provided by sugar large Tate & Lyle.
The starch was recognized because the potential supply of the contamination.
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Mrs Eaton stated: “Dairy-free is something I am passionate about which is why we bought the CoYo licence.
“I did not ever dream it could include dairy after he (Henry Gosling) bought me a licence.
“He said it was made in an allergen-free environment. He had a very good relationship with Tate & Lyle
“That was the reassurance he gave me and I revered that.”
Maria Voisin, the senior coroner for Avon, requested Mrs Eaton whether or not she thought of testing the starch.
She replied: “We never tested the product because I was assured and believed it was being made in an allergen-free environment.
“I used to be informed there was a separate line or facility that was fully allergen-free and that is what we relied upon.”
The witness said that since Mrs Marsh’s death all products are now tested, irrespective of the source.
‘I’m angry and upset’
Mrs Eaton began crying under questioning from barrister Jeremy Hyam KC, representing Mrs Marsh’s family.
Fighting back tears, she said: “I’m a bit offended and upset about this.
“I didn’t just rely on his word, I relied on the fact that I had been sold a licence for a dairy-free product and it has been manufactured by Tate & Lyle with CoYo and created a very popular dairy-free yogurt product in Australia.”
The inquest additionally heard from Guy Meakin, interim managing director of Pret a Manger, who expressed his “extreme sorrow” to the household of Mrs Marsh for his or her loss.
“If we had known it had contained milk products we would never have used it,” he stated.
He stated all merchandise have been now labelled with substances and Pret had launched allergen danger assessments.
Source: information.sky.com”