Professional Dancer Dies After Eating Mislabeled Cookies

A professional dancer who moved to New York City from the UK to pursue her dreams died this month after eating a mislabeled cookie. Órla Baxendale, 25, died on January 11 after eating a Vanilla Florentine at an event; she had a peanut allergy, but peanuts were not listed in the ingredients, according to lawyers representing her family. "Órla was very careful and hypervigilant about everything she ate, and always thoroughly checked the ingredients on all packaging," one of the attorneys says. Her allergy was so severe, he adds, that despite her EpiPen being administered after she started having an anaphylactic reaction, it was not effective.

The cookies were sold at a Stew Leonard's store, and the Connecticut grocery chain has since issued a recall for them; they were sold as holiday cookies between November 6 and December 31 of last year, USA Today reports. The store says it bought the cookies from an outside supplier, Cookies United, and it accuses that supplier of changing its recipe from soy nuts to peanuts without informing Stew Leonard's. But Cookies United says that's not true; an attorney for the manufacturer says it informed the grocery chain of the ingredient change in July of 2023, and that all packages shipped to them since were labeled correctly, People reports. Stew Leonard's created an "incorrect label" and applied it to the repackaged cookies, which were sold under the Stew Leonard's brand, the lawyer says.

The Cookies United lawyer expressed condolences to Baxendale's family, as did Stew Leonard's. Baxendale "was an embodiment of enthusiasm, strength, and beauty," reads her obituary. "Known for her quirky character and boundless love for those around her, she was a source of joy and inspiration to everyone. Her presence was a constant reminder to live life to its fullest, a lesson she embraced wholeheartedly and urged others to adopt." The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the Connecticut Department of Public Health are investigating. (More peanut allergy stories.)