Pret wrap which killed woman contained milk, inquest told

A chemist who analysed a Pret a Manger sandwich eaten by a woman with a severe dairy allergy has told her inquest he believes it contained milk.

Celia Marsh, 42, from Melksham, Wiltshire, went into anaphylactic shock in December 27, 2017 shortly after eating the sandwich.

Testing by Paul Hancock showed yoghurt used in the sandwich contained between 3.1 and 3.4mg/kg of milk protein.

"It would be reasonable to deduce there was milk in the sandwich," he said.

When Mr Hancock tested a super veg rainbow flatbread, he found it contained 0.55mg/kg of milk protein, which was below the level at which it can be detected by regular testing procedures.

He wrote a Food Standards Authority certificate for the pots of yoghurt he tested, and for the wrap stating they contained milk.

"In the absence of challenge, the document should be accepted in a court of law.

"It will be for the court to decide if the milk protein present was sufficient to cause a reaction in Mrs Marsh," he told her inquest.

He also acknowledged that he was unable to rule out a false-positive result sometimes triggered by coconut milk.

When asked by the coroner Maria Voisin if he believed the term "dairy free" had been properly used by Pret, Mr Hancock replied: "I would expect there to be an absence of milk or milk products in something described as dairy free."

He added: "I would expect an average member of the public to understand vegan as that definition - milk protein is an animal product."

Pret was charged with food safety failures in the wake of Mrs Marsh's death, but the prosecution was dropped due to lack of evidence.

The inquest heard previously that Pret displayed a warning in its shops stating its food was prepared on-site and it could not guarantee it was safe for people with allergies.

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