Pret A Manger found not guilty in sandwich allergy trial

It was alleged that a staff member failed to check the store's allergen guide, and wrongly informed a customer that it did not contain sesame.

Following a week-long trial, a jury has found Pret A Manger not guilty of a food safety offence after an incident in 2017.

Isobel Colnaghi suffered a severe allergic reaction after buying a sandwich from the firm’s shop at Bath’s SouthGate shopping centre on November 26 that year.

Colnaghi was understood to have checked the packaging of the curried chickpea and mango chutney sandwich before asking a staff member whether the item contained sesame, to which she is allergic.

Bristol Crown Court heard that the staff member did not check the store’s allergen guide, which would have confirmed that the sandwich did contain sesame, and wrongly told Colnaghi it did not after looking at a shelf label.

“We welcome the court’s decision in relation to this incident in 2017. At Pret we continue to do everything we can to support customers with allergies and in 2019, we became the first food-to-go business to introduce full ingredient labels on all freshly made products. We remain 100% committed to the actions we set out in the Pret Allergy Plan, so that every customer has the information they need to make the right choice for them. We wish Ms Colnaghi all the best for the future,” a spokesperson for Pret A Manger said.