Who? Michelle Victor, partner and head of the food safety team at Leigh Day, London.

Michelle Victor

Why is she in the news? Represented the family of Celia Marsh, who was allergic to cows’ milk and died on 27 December 2017 after eating a Pret a Manger wrap. The family have called for greater transparency and accountability throughout the food supply chain following the conclusion of the inquest into Celia’s death, which found that the wrap she ate was contaminated with milk protein.

Thoughts on the case: ‘After almost five years, the inquest has crucially provided Celia’s family with answers as to how and why Celia passed away. In addition, the senior coroner has identified issues for consideration by various institutions to help prevent future anaphylactic deaths.

‘Celia Marsh, who was allergic to dairy, died after eating a wrap which she had purchased from Pret a Manger which was labelled as “vegan” and “dairy-free”. [Pret clarified to the Gazette that the wrap was labelled as vegan but only the coconut yoghurt from Planet Coconut was labelled dairy-free.]

‘The inquest confirmed that the wrap Celia ate contained a “dairy-free yoghurt alternative” manufactured by Planet Coconut which had been inadvertently cross-contaminated.’

The senior coroner will be writing prevention of future deaths reports to the Royal College of Pathologists and the Food Standards Agency to consider a number of measures that could ‘help save lives’ in future, relating mainly to product-testing, labelling and public awareness.

Pano Christou, Pret a Manger CEO, said: ‘Our deepest sympathies remain with everyone who knew and loved Celia. We fully support the coroner’s findings. As the coroner made clear, Planet Coconut had information which should have alerted them that their CoYo yoghurt may have contained milk and this information was not passed on to Pret. It goes without saying that if Pret had ever known that the CoYo yoghurt may have contained milk, we would have never used the ingredient. On Pret’s part, we have taken significant steps forward with our suppliers and labelling policies since 2017.’

The Gazette has repeatedly tried to contact Planet Coconut.

Dealing with the media: ‘Before Leigh Day were formally appointed as legal representatives, unfortunately Celia’s family were “doorstepped” by the media which they found very distressing. Since then we have tried to work with the media to keep them updated on the case while communicating the family’s wishes not to be approached directly by the media.

‘Throughout the inquest, the media have been respectful to the family, recognising that this is an agonising time and allowing them time to process evidence heard and the outcome. The family have since been working with the media to help raise awareness and bring about changes that are needed to better protect allergy sufferers.’

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