Allergy death: Girl's parents say Pret not acting fast enough over full labelling plans

The parents of a girl who died from an allergic reaction after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich say the company is not acting fast enough to introduce full ingredient labelling.

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, collapsed on board a flight after consuming a baguette that contained sesame seeds which she had bought at a Pret outlet in Heathrow airport in 2016.

The teenager, from Fulham, southwest London, had checked the packet before eating the baguette, but Pret had not declared the fact it contained sesame seeds on the packet.

Last week a coroner said the firm had not done enough to alert customers to allergens.

Now Pret has said it will introduce full ingredient and allergen labelling of all individual items from next year after a trial starting next month.

Currently, pre-packaged foods do not have to have a specific allergen label attached.

Natasha's mother Tanya said it was "inconceivable" the company cannot act faster.

She said: "They sell a certain number of sandwiches, a certain number of baguettes, they make a certain number of foods in their kitchens.

"It is not impossible for a small kitchen - those are his words - it's a small kitchen, so the amount of sandwiches they produce they can't put labels on those, accurate allergen labels, is totally inconceivable. It doesn't wash with me."

Pret has announced that full ingredient labelling will be introduced to all products that are freshly made in its shop kitchens.

The firm says it will begin trialling the move from November and plans to roll this out to all UK shops as quickly as possible.

Pret chief executive Clive Schlee said: "I want to say again how deeply sorry we are for the loss of Natasha.

"I said we would learn from this tragedy and ensure meaningful changes happen."

Natasha had been on her way to a four-day break in France with her father and best friend when she fell ill on a British Airways flight from London to Nice.