Celia Marsh, 42, a dental nurse from Melksham, Wiltshire, died on 27 December 2017 after eating a lot of vegetarian rainbow bread from the sandwich chain’s outlet in Bath, Somerset. The wrap contained yogurt that was supposed to be vegan, but was later found to have traces of dairy protein. The mother-of-five suffered from a severe dairy allergy and Avon Coroner’s Court was told she “religiously avoided” all dairy products after a near-fatal allergic reaction months earlier. Mrs Marsh was on a post-Christmas shopping trip with her husband and three of her daughters when she went to Pret’s to buy something to eat. In his statement, which was read to the hearing by the coroner, Andy Marsh said his wife had started to feel “a bit funny” after eating the wrapper while they were in the Gap clothing store and decided to leave the store. Celia Marsh suffered from a severe dairy allergy (PA) He said: “We started walking down the narrow side street next to the Gap store and Celia took out her asthma inhaler. “She used it a few times and I asked her if it was okay. He said he was having trouble breathing, but it might be because of the cold air. “Then we moved to a small side street on the left and I pulled her to one side.” He said Ms Marsh had initially thought she was being “silly” because the sandwich had been labeled “vegan”. “She had her Epipen in her hand and I told her if she thought there was a chance she might have a reaction she should just go ahead and use the pen as it doesn’t matter,” she said. “He then said to me, ‘You need to call an ambulance,’” he added. Mr Marsh said he called 999 when his wife had collapsed and was being cared for by an off-duty doctor who had offered to help. “They took Celia in an ambulance but I had my children with me so I couldn’t go in the ambulance with her to the hospital,” Mr Marsh said. “I was really in shock so it took a while before I could get to the hospital in my car. “When we got to the hospital we were taken to a side room and told Celia was pronounced dead at 4pm.” A public servant who came to Ms Marsh’s aid said a crowd had formed on the busy road around her as she lay on the ground. She described the scene as “disturbing” and said she saw Mr Marsh trying to comfort his young daughter. Many people are said to have taken off their coats to put over Mrs Marsh to keep her warm. However, one of the paramedics who attended said in his statement that some shoppers continued to violate Ms Marsh as she was being treated. Celia Marsh (centre) with four of her five daughters (PA) Mr Marsh and his daughters were seen crying during the hearing as statements were read out. The inquest is taking place at Ashton Court Mansion House in Bristol and is expected to last between two and three weeks. It will determine how Mrs. Marsh died. Ms Marsh’s family is represented at the hearing by Jeremy Hyam QC, while interested parties include Bath and North East Somerset Council, Australian-based coconut yoghurt company CoYo and its UK distributor Planet Coconut. Both companies were involved in the supply of the sandwich’s yogurt ingredient to Pret. Pret was accused of food safety failings after Ms Marsh’s death, but the prosecution was later dropped due to a lack of evidence. The company said it would fully cooperate with the investigation. Ms Marsh’s death came in the wake of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 after eating a Pret baguette containing sesame seeds bought at Heathrow Airport. Ms. Ednan-Laperouse was allergic to sesame. The tragedy sparked an overhaul of food labeling laws that now requires retailers to display full ingredient and allergen labeling on any food prepared on the premises and prepackaged for immediate sale, including sandwiches, cakes and salads.
