A mother with a severe milk allergy died after eating a sandwich that was supposed to be dairy-free but was contaminated with milk protein. She was unaware of the contamination shortly after eating the sandwich, she fell ill and collapsed after injecting herself with an epinephrine pen. Despite being rushed to the hospital by ambulance, she passed away. Following an investigation in 2022, Avon's senior coroner, Maria Voisin, blamed the contaminated sandwich for her death and wrote in her report: 'A product that is labelled as 'dairy-free' must be free from dairy products.' The woman's husband, Andy, then filed a compensation claim on behalf of his family against Pret A Manger and Planet Coconut Limited, the product's manufacturer. After out-of-court negotiations, Marsh agreed to a settlement, and lawyers recently revealed in court that the family would receive a total sum of £1,250,000. Judge Mark Gidden was informed that Pret A Manger would bear 25% of the compensation, while Planet Coconut's insurance companies would cover the remainder. The coroner Voisin commented: 'The contamination resulted from one of the yogurt components, named HG1, being contaminated with milk protein during its manufacture,' adding, 'The dairy-free yogurt's manufacturer had documentation indicating this risk, but they did not inform their customers of it.'
