A professional dancer in New York passed away after consuming a holiday cookie containing peanuts that was incorrectly labeled. The cookie was purchased from the popular supermarket Stew Leonard's, leading to a dispute between the store and the wholesaler who are now pointing fingers at each other.
Orla Baxendale, 25, suffered anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction, after eating a Vanilla Florentine cookie on January 11, attorney Marijo Adimey said in a Wednesday statement. Baxendale, a UK native, who moved to the city to become a world-class dancer, ate the cookie at a social gathering in Connecticut. The cookie contained peanuts, which were not listed as part of the ingredients
Tragic Death
"Órla's passing stemmed from an unfortunate incident involving the consumption of a cookie manufactured by Cookies United and sold by Stew Leonard's, which contained undisclosed peanuts," Adimey wrote.
"This tragic oversight has led to the recall of the Vanilla Florentine Cookies from Stew Leonard's stores in Danbury and Newington, CT, for the period of November 6 – December 31, 2023."
Adimey said that an investigation into Baxendale's death uncovered "gross negligence and reckless conduct of the manufacturer and/or sellers" for failing to mention on the cookies' packaging that the product contained peanuts.
"This failure in proper disclosure has led to this devastating yet preventable outcome," the attorney wrote.
The Manchester native relocated to New York City in 2018 to pursue training as a scholarship student at the Ailey School, as mentioned on the school's website.
Baxendale had performed during New York Fashion Week and had been engaged in dance productions at Lincoln Center.
Blame Game Begins
Baxendale's death has now led to a blame game between the store and the wholesaler. Stew Leonard's clarified that the Long Island bakery from which it procures the cookies did not communicate any alterations in the ingredients for the Vanilla Florentine Cookies.
"I'm here with our family and, I mean we're just all devastated, very sad. I have four daughters, one of them is in her 20s. I can imagine how that family feels right now," CEO Stew Leonard Jr. said in the released video, according to News 12.
On the other hand, the wholesaler, Cookies United, contended that it did inform the regional supermarket chain about the change in ingredients months before Baxendale's tragic death.
"Stew Leonard's claimed in an earlier press release that 'the cookies contain peanuts, which was an ingredient not disclosed to Stew Leonard's by the manufacturer,'" United Cookies wrote in a statement Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, considering the tragedy of these circumstances, we need to point out that Stew Leonard's was notified by Cookies United in July of 2023 that this product now contains peanuts, and all products shipped to them have been labeled accordingly."
The wholesaler alleges that Stew Leonard's altered the packaging to reflect the store's brand but neglected to appropriately label the cookies as containing peanuts before they were placed on the shelves.
Stew Leonard's said that the product was exclusively sold at the Danbury and Newington locations. The supermarket issued a recall for the seasonal product on Tuesday.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Food, Standards, and Product Safety Division (DCP) has launched an investigation into the tragic incident, collaborating with officials in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and Stew Leonard's.
"This is a heartbreaking tragedy that should never have happened," said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement on Tuesday.
"It's completely tragic and should not be occurring," Punita Ponda, Northwell Health's associate division chief for allergy and immunology, told News 12.
