The family of a professional dancer who passed away after consuming a mislabeled cookie is suing popular grocery chain Stew Leonard’s and several employees for wrongful death.
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On January 11, 25-year-old Órla Baxendale was rehearsing at a dance studio in Connecticut when she suffered anaphylactic shock due to a severe allergic reaction to a Vanilla Florentine cookie sold by Stew Leonard’s, which contained peanuts. The dancer’s family claims the company failed to indicate the allergen risk on the packaging, the New York Post reported.
The lawsuit, filed by Baxendale’s mother on Thursday, alleges that the incident resulted from “gross negligence and reckless indifference” by those responsible for updating the ingredient label to reflect the presence of peanuts. According to the filing, the company ignored a July 2023 notification from the manufacturer, Cookies LLC, stating that the Florentine Cookies now contained peanuts. Despite 11 Stew Leonard’s employees receiving this email, the ingredient labels were not updated to indicate the new allergen risk.
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The incorrect labeling led to Baxendale, who had a severe peanut allergy, consuming the cookie and passing away as a result. Her family’s lawsuit also indicated that the Vanilla Florentine cookies were not labeled correctly to indicate they contained peanuts, which directly resulted in her death. Weeks following Baxendale’s death, the supermarket chain recalled several products for incorrect or incomplete labels.
The lawsuit cites this recall as further evidence of the grocery chain’s “broken, unreliable, and inherently dangerous system. The company’s president and CEO admitted to its fault in a video statement on January 24, acknowledging their responsibility for the tragic incident. Cookies United was also held liable for manufacturing, packaging, and selling the mislabeled products to Stew Leonard’s in the lawsuit.
Baxendale moved to New York City in 2018 on a scholarship to study at the Ailey School. She had performed for New York Fashion Week and productions at Lincoln Center.
