Mum-of-five died after fatal reaction to vegan Pret wrap that contained milk, coroner rules
22 September 2022, 14:48 | Updated: 22 September 2022, 15:04
A mother-of-five with an acute dairy allergy died after eating a vegan Pret wrap that contained traces of milk, a coroner has ruled.
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Celia Marsh, 42, from Melksham, Wiltshire, died after eating a super veg rainbow flatbread from Pret’s store in Bath in December 2017.
She had been out in Bath on a post-Christmas shopping trip with her husband Andy and three of her daughters. At around 2pm, Marsh went to buy her lunch from Pret and was declared dead less than two hours later.
Senior coroner Maria Voisin concluded that the coconut yogurt dressing from Australian brand CoYo, has been contaminated with milk protein during the manufacturing process.
Ms Voisin reached her conclusion after a two-week inquest into Ms Marsh’s death at Avon Coroner’s Court in Bristol.
She said that CoYo labelled their product as dairy-free but had documentation flagging the risk of cross-contamination that they did not pass on to their customers.
A chemist gave evidence at the inquest and said that the quantity of dairy in the wrap was too low to be measured by any degree of accuracy, but that it definitely contained milk.
Ms Voisin said: “Celia Marsh was allergic to milk. She died when she suffered anaphylaxis caused by consumption of a wrap contaminated with milk protein.
“She was not aware that the wrap contained milk protein. The wrap contained a product with was labelled as dairy-free yoghurt alternative but, despite this, contained milk protein which was the cause of Celia‘s anaphylaxis.
“The contamination arose because an ingredient in the yoghurt called HG1 (a starch) had been cross-contaminated with milk protein during its manufacture.
“The manufacturer of the dairy-free yoghurt had in its possession documentation that flagged this risk but this risk was not passed on to its customers.”
Marsh’s family have paid tribute to her. Her husband Andy, 51, said: “Celia meant the world to us” and that he had lost his “best friend”.
“She could brighten up your worst days with just one smile. She would look at you with her blue eyes and you just felt better. She was a great mum.
“We were best friends. People could tell we were in love by just sitting in the same room as us and us not saying a word to each other.
“Any manufacturer who makes something that is then labelled ‘free from’ has to take the responsibility for the testing to make sure it is exactly that.
"People with allergies are currently relying solely on the fact that the packaging says it is ‘free from’. Surely more testing along the way – even if it is more time-consuming – would be better going forward.”
Pret a Manger CEO Pano Christou said they "fully support the coroner's findings".
“As a father and husband, I can only imagine how distressing this has been for Celia’s children and family. Our deepest sympathies remain with everyone who knew and loved Celia.
“We fully support the coroner’s findings. As the coroner made clear, Planet Coconut had information which should have alerted them that their CoYo yoghurt may have contained milk and this information was not passed on to Pret.
“It goes without saying that if Pret had ever known that the CoYo yoghurt may have contained milk, we would have never used the ingredient.
“On Pret’s part, we have taken significant steps forward with our suppliers and labelling policies since 2017.”
