Monday 26 September 2022 11:05 AM Celia Marsh's family say mother-of-five 'religiously checked' what was safe to ... trends now
The family of a woman with a severe dairy allergy who died after eating a Pret a Manger vegan wrap containing traces of milk say she was 'religious' about checking what was safe to eat.
Mother-of-five Celia Marsh, 42, suffered a fatal allergic reaction on December 27, 2017, shortly after eating a £3.75 super-veg rainbow flatbread bought from the chain's store in Bath, Somerset.
Mrs Marsh, a dental nurse from Melksham, Wiltshire, had a severe dairy allergy and collapsed in the street after eating the sandwich while on a post-Christmas shopping trip with her husband and three of her daughters.
Ashleigh and Shanaye Grice (pictured left and centre) spoke about how their mother would religiously check food labels as they appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside Michelle Victor (right), the lawyer who represented Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who also died following an allergic reaction to a Pret sandwich in 2016
Celia Marsh, 42, died after having an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger super-veg rainbow flatbread on December 27, 2017
Two of her daughters, Ashleigh and Shanaye Grice, appeared on Good Morning Britain today to speak about the tragic events surrounding their mother's death.
Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls, the pair told how their mother 'religiously' checking' what was safe to eat was a 'big part' of their lives as a family because she feared having a severe reaction.
Ashleigh said: 'It was a massive part of our lives and she was so strict and religiously checking everything because obviously it was so terrifying that this could ever happen.
'So as a family it was a big part of our lives, our home lives, it was just all the time, everything for us as a family.
'It was just so religious for her to make sure, double check, triple check.'
Two of Celia Marsh's daughters, Ashleigh and Shanaye Grice, spoke about the events surrounding their mother's death with Susanna Reid and Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain
Ashleigh continued: 'Like she did that day when she purchased that wrap from Pret.
'She would have triple checked and possibly even asked herself because she was very religious about that.
'The wrap itself had a list of ingredients on it and everything on there she knew she could have and then at the bottom, it did say dairy free Planet Coconut yoghurt alternative, so she knew or she thought that it was safe to eat that.'
Two of Mrs Marsh's daughters appeared on Good Morning Britain to talk about their mother's death amid calls for stricter rules around food labelling and more 'vigorous testing' across the entire supply chain
Her daughter Shanaye told the presenters that Mrs Marsh had suffered an allergic reaction months prior to her death after eating a marshmallow cereal bar at work.
She said that her mother required 15 adrenalin shots after having a severe allergic reaction to the bar - which said on the label that it may contain traces of dairy - but she thought it was okay because she had eaten it before without issue.
This prompted Susanna Reid to assert that it is 'like a Russian roulette' for allergy sufferers when they go out to eat.
Mrs Marsh's family are now calling for stricter rules around food labelling and more 'vigorous testing' across the entire supply chain to prevent other tragic deaths.
Ashleigh added: 'There are quite a few things that we want to change.
'The main number one is testing, so we believe that there needs to be vigorous testing throughout the whole supply chain from one company to another.'
Lawyer Michelle Victor said it was 'absolutely imperative' that better labelling was introduced across the 'whole supply chain'
Lawyer Michelle Victor, who represented the family Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died following an allergic reaction to a Pret sandwich in 2016, said: 'It is absolutely imperative that there is full transparency throughout the whole supply chain and that if there is anything even including a risk of contamination, that information is passed on down the food chain.
'What we do know is that Planet Coconut had information in its possession to indicate that the HG One and the yoghurt ultimately made was contaminated with milk.
'And had that information been passed on to Pret a Manager, they say that they would never have used that yoghurt and Celia may be here today.'
Earlier this month, an inquest investigating the mother-of-five's death heard that Pret a Manger was not conducting its own checks on manufacturers supplying dairy-free products for its vegan ranges.
The wrap had contained yoghurt which was supposed to be vegan but was later found to contain traces of dairy protein, Avon Coroner's Court heard.
The yoghurt was produced by Planet Coconut, which is the UK manufacturer and distributor of products developed by Australia-based yoghurt company CoYo.
Kirsty Langford, a trading standards officer for Bath and North East Somerset Council, told the inquest Pret a Manger had not apparently conducted its own audit of the claims made by Planet Coconut.
Celia Marsh, 42, suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction after eating a 'super-veg rainbow flatbread' at a Pret store
The dental nurse, from Melksham, Wiltshire, suffered from a severe dairy allergy and later died in hospital from the reaction
Mrs Marsh's family, including husband Andy, pictured arriving for her inquest yesterday. Members of the family wept as written statements were read to the court
'When a dairy-free claim is made on a product you expect some sort of testing to be taking place,' she said.
'That may not itself be the responsibility of Pret A Manger but it would probably be Pret's responsibility to ensure their supplier was undertaking some sort of testing.'
Ms Langford continued: 'When we went back to Planet Coconut we weren't supplied with any test certificate and we weren't sure that Pret had been supplied with any either - we haven't been supplied with any evidence of that.
'That becomes more important when there is a dairy-free claim on the product, that is when you would expect finished product testing to make sure that 'free-from' claim can be verified.'
Ms Langford said that ordinarily, a free-from claim on a product would be supported by a risk assessment by the retailer checking all the processes and ingredients in the supply chain.
She said that Planet Coconut had said it was testing its product for allergens every year, and added that how often a product should be tested was not enshrined in law.
Mrs Marsh died after eating a 'super-veg rainbow flatbread' (pictured) which had been contaminated with milk protein
She had been enjoying a family meal at the Pret A Manger store (pictured) in Bath, Somerset, in December 2017 (Stock image)
Mrs Marsh's husband Andy Marsh (back, centre) and her family outside the inquest at Avon and Somerset Coroner's Court in Bristol yesterday
'There is nothing in law to say how often you should be testing, there is nothing in law to say you should be testing every batch for example,' Ms Langford said.
'With a
