Student suffered severe allergic reaction after eating Pret A Manger sandwich, court hears

Isobel Colnaghi quickly fell unwell after eating curried chickpea and mango chutney sandwich from Bath shop

Bristol Crown Court has heard student Isobel Colnaghi suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich (Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

A student suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich she had been wrongly assured did not contain sesame, a court heard.

Isobel Colnaghi bought the curried chickpea and mango chutney sandwich at the firm's shop at Bath's SouthGate shopping centre in November 2017.

Bristol Crown Court heard Ms Colnaghi checked the packaging before asking a staff member whether the item contained sesame, to which she is allergic.

She ate a few bites of the sandwich outside but quickly began feeling unwell and was later taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath by ambulance.

Pret A Manger (Europe) Ltd denies one charge of selling food not of the substance demanded, contrary to section 14 of the Food Safety Act 1990.

Kate Brunner QC, prosecuting, told jurors Ms Colnaghi had been diagnosed with a severe nut and sesame allergy as a young child and carried an EpiPen for use in emergencies.

“Miss Colnaghi went to Pret A Manger at the SouthGate centre in Bath shortly before 4pm on 26 November in 2017 and she considered buying a certain sandwich," Ms Brunner said.

“It was a curried chickpea with mango chutney sandwich. The sandwich itself didn't have ingredients listed on it.

“She did see a label on the sandwich which said she should ask a member of staff about allergies. She asked a member of staff at the till whether the sandwich had sesame in it.

“The member of staff said he didn't think so but that he would check.

“He went to the same fridge where Miss Colnaghi had taken the sandwich from. After looking, he assured her that the sandwich didn't have sesame in.”

Ms Brunner said Pret A Manger has an allergy guide, which highlights the ingredients of each product and specifies information about them.

If the staff member had looked at the guide, he would have seen the curried chickpea sandwich contained sesame, she told the jury.

“Miss Colnaghi was falsely reassured that the curried chickpea sandwich didn't have sesame in and so she bought the sandwich," Ms Brunner said.

“She went outside the store and after a couple of bites, she knew that something was seriously wrong. She felt her throat becoming scratchy.”

General view of Bristol Crown Court (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Ms Colnaghi bought antihistamines from a nearby shop but her symptoms continued to worsen. She rang 999 and was told to administer her EpiPen.

“An ambulance arrived. She went into anaphylactic shock. She became unconscious,” Ms Brunner said.

“The paramedics administered emergency treatment to her, including intravenous steroids, and she was rushed to the emergency department of the Royal United Bath hospital, where she was further treated.

“Thankfully she made a full recovery.”

The court heard Ms Colnaghi's father later reported the incident to Trading Standards at Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Text on the sandwich packaging said: “If you have allergies please ask. All our food is handmade in our busy kitchen so we can't guarantee it is suitable for people with allergies.”

Ms Brunner said Ms Colnaghi had followed the label's advice and asked a member of staff but was “given misinformation”.

Giving evidence, Ms Colnaghi said she had been shopping with a friend in Bath and they had gone to the Pret A Manger store to pick up a snack before returning home.

She described choosing the sandwich before checking the packaging for allergy information.

“There weren't any ingredients on the sandwich, I looked at the tickets and I couldn't see any allergens but I noticed on the package it said ‘if you have allergies ask a member of staff’,” she said.

“When it was time to pay, I asked the person at the till. I think I went up and said ‘I'm allergic to sesame, can I just double check this doesn't have any in the sandwich’.

“At first he said ‘I don't really know’. He said ‘I will go and check for you’. I thought maybe he would provide a list or something. He just went to the fridge where I got the sandwich to check.”

After eating the sandwich, her symptoms became “worse quite quickly”, with her lips and eyes swelling and a rash appearing.

She vomited and experienced “excruciating stomach pains” before being taken to the hospital, from which she was discharged about six hours later.

Jonathan Laidlaw QC, representing Pret A Manger, asked Ms Colnaghi if she had checked the company's website to confirm the sandwich was safe for her to eat.

She replied that she was not aware she could have done so, or that she could have asked to see an allergy guide.

The trial, expected to last for five days, continues.

Additional reporting by PA