“The preliminary investigation revealed that Órla’s death occurred due to gross negligence and reckless conduct of the manufacturer and/or sellers who failed to correctly identify the contents of the cookie on the “packaging”, we read in a press release from the company Gair, Gair, Conason. , Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman and Mackauf. “This failure to provide appropriate disclosure led to this devastating but avoidable outcome. »
Connecticut grocer and health officials are warning people about Florentine cookies sold under the house brand Stew Leonard’s at stores in Danbury and Newington, purchased between Nov. 6 and Dec. 31.
“Consumers with tree nut allergies should immediately throw away the cookies or return them to the point of purchase and seek medical attention if necessary,” said the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Division of Food, Standards and Product Safety and the Connecticut Department of Public Health. A declaration.
Stew Leonard Jr., CEO of the grocery chain, released a video message Wednesday in which he said it was a “sad day” for his family and expressed his sympathy. “I have four daughters. One of them is in her 20s,” he said. “I can imagine how this family is feeling right now.” He blamed the alleged mislabeling, saying the wholesaler his company purchased the cookies from changed its recipe and failed to inform the grocer’s safety manager that the items contained peanuts.
But that wholesaler, Cookies Unlimited, says it informed Stew Leonard’s about the switch from soy nuts to peanuts in Florentine cookies. She provided a copy of a letter allegedly sent to 11 Stewart Leonard employees alerting them of the change. “This letter is to inform you that the ingredients below have been changed and now contain peanuts,” the letter dated July 11 reads. Cookies Unlimited provided the redacted email addresses of the employees to whom it said it sent the letter. .
The company also posted on its website the labels it said it used in all shipments to Stew Leonard’s after July 20. These labels, for the vanilla and chocolate versions of the Florentine biscuit, indicated that the biscuits contained peanuts.
Walker Flanary, Cookies Unlimited’s general counsel, said in an interview that officials from the New York Department of Agriculture visited the company’s facilities after the incident was reported. “They audited our processes,” he said, and found no problems. “As far as we’re concerned, it’s a question of labeling.”
“We are fully cooperating with authorities regarding this heartbreaking event,” Cookies Unlimited said in a statement. “This is a tragedy that should never have happened and our sympathies go out to the family of this Stew Leonard’s customer.”
A spokeswoman for Stewart Leonard declined to answer questions, including whether company employees had received the letter alerting them to the recipe change.
Baxendale’s lawyers could not immediately be reached, but their statement described her as a talented 25-year-old whose family was grieving. “She was a radiant and courageous soul who tirelessly pursued her dreams, leaving an indelible mark in the hearts of those who knew her,” we read.
Baxendale’s biography on the website of the Ailey School, where she studied, says the Manchester native joined the school as a scholarship student in 2018. She performed at New York Fashion Week York and at the Lincoln Center in New York, it is indicated.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection said its investigators are working with state and local public health officials in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and Stew Leonard’s “to determine the cause of the error, as well as whether other products were affected and sold to other stores.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy that should never have happened,” DCP Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli said in the release.
