Woman dies after eating mislabeled cookie, officials say

Cookies sold at a pair of grocery stores in Connecticut have been recalled after officials said they were sold with undeclared peanuts and eggs in their ingredients, possibly leading to the death of a New York resident in her 20s.

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The recall includes Vanilla and Chocolate Florentine Cookies sold between Nov. 6, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2023, at Stew Leonard’s grocery stores in Danbury and Newington. Officials said the cookies, which were seasonal, had a best-by date of Jan. 5, 2024.

Consumers who have nut allergies were advised to immediately throw out the cookies or return them. On Thursday, authorities said they determined the cookies also contained eggs that were not listed on the label. Officials urged people to seek medical attention if needed.

Authorities are investigating at least one death that “may be associated with the mislabeled product,” according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Family members told BBC News that British dancer Órla Baxendale died after eating the snack and suffering a severe allergic reaction. Attorney Marijo Adimey told WPIX that two friends were with Baxendale when she ate the cookie during a dance trip to Connecticut and that they tried to save her life with an EpiPen, to no avail.

She was allergic to peanuts, BBC News reported.

Bryan Cafferelli, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Food, Standards and Product Safety Division, called the incident “a heartbreaking tragedy that should never have happened.” He said authorities are working with federal officials and authorities in New York and New Jersey “to determine how this error happened and prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.”

“Correct labeling so that people who have food allergies can appropriately protect themselves is of utmost importance,” Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani added in a statement. “I cannot stress enough the importance of food allergy awareness so that an avoidable tragedy like this doesn’t happen again.”

In a video statement shared Wednesday, Stew Leonard Jr. — the president of Stew Leonard’s — said that the company that supplied the cookies to the grocery chain changed its recipe to use peanuts instead of soy nuts without notifying them. The cookies were produced by wholesaler Cookies United and labeled with the Stew Leonard’s brand name, according to health officials.

Cookies United denied that it failed to notify Stew Leonard’s about the change, saying in a statement that they told Stew Leonard’s in July 2023 about the adjustment.

“This product is sold under the Stew Leonard’s brand and repackaged at their facilities,” the company said Tuesday in a statement. “The incorrect label was created by, and applied to, their product by Stew Leonard’s.”

Cookies United said it is “fully cooperating with authorities.”

“This is a tragedy that should have never happened and our sympathy is with the family of this Stew Leonard’s customer,” the company said.

Leonard said about 500 packages of Florentine Cookies were sold over the holidays with the erroneous labels.

“Unfortunately, this customer purchased them and had a fatal experience,” he said. “We’re just all devastated, you know, very sad. I have four daughters, you know, one of them is in their 20s. I can imagine how that family feels right now.”

He added that customers should be assured that “the food you buy at Stew Leonard’s are safe, the cookies you buy at Stew Leonard’s are safe and everything is labeled properly.”

“We have a very rigorous process we use as far as labeling and we take labels very seriously, especially peanuts,” he said.

All items baked by Cookies United have been removed from Stew Leonard’s stores in Connecticut “out of an abundance of caution,” according to health officials.

Authorities continue to investigate.

Editor’s note: Due to erroneous reports, an earlier version of this story said a man from New York had died.

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