Professional dancer Órla Baxendale dies after eating Stew Leonard's cookie made by Islip baker, officials say
Órla Baxendale came to New York City in 2018 to train at The Ailey School in Manhattan. Credit: Nir Arieli
This story was reported by John Asbury, Robert Brodsky and Maureen Mullarkey. It was written by Mullarkey.
The woman who suffered a fatal allergic reaction this month after consuming a cookie containing undeclared peanuts — sparking the Long Island manufacturer and a popular supermarket chain to exchange blame for the death — was identified Thursday as a professional dancer from the United Kingdom.
Órla Baxendale, 25, from Manchester, England but living in New York, consumed a vanilla Florentine cookie at a social gathering in Connecticut. The cookie was manufactured by wholesaler Cookies United in Islip and labeled with the Stew Leonard’s brand name, health officials said.
Baxendale suffered from anaphylactic shock on Jan. 11 after eating the cookie, said Howard Hershenhorn, the attorney for the victim's family.
An EpiPen, an auto-injector containing medication to decrease an allergic reaction, was administered to Baxendale at the gathering, but the dancer succumbed to the allergic reaction that day, Hershenhorn said.
On Tuesday, Stew Leonard's, which has locations in East Meadow and Farmingdale issued a recall on the cookies, indicating they were sold between Nov. 6 and Dec. 31. at Connecticut stores in Danbury and Newington.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection on Thursday warned that the cookies also contained eggs, another ingredient not on the label. Eggs are one of the major food allergens identified by the FDA that requires additional labeling.
Baxendale’s family informed state authorities about the incident when they traveled to the United States to return her body to the U.K., Hershenhorn said.
On Wednesday, Stew Leonard Jr., president of the supermarket chain, posted a video on the company's website saying that Cookies United changed the recipe from soy nuts to peanuts without notifying their chief safety officer.
“We have a very rigorous process that we use as far as labeling,” Leonard said in the video. “We take labels very seriously, especially peanuts.
Walker Flanary III, general counsel of Cookies United, said the company sent emails to 11 Stew Leonard's employees, notifying them that the product now contained peanuts. Flanary released a copy of one of those emails, along with labels created by the Islip bakery stipulating that the cookies contained peanuts.
The dancer's family was stunned at Stew Leonard’s video statement claiming her death was “someone else’s fault” and denying any accountability, Hershenhorn said.
Baxendale moved to New York in 2018 to train as a scholarship student at The Ailey School, according to the school's website. She worked with various choreographers and appeared in numerous professional productions, including at Lincoln Center, the school said.
One of the dance instructors, Guillermo Asca, said he taught Baxendale for about two years, specializing in the Horton full-body type of dance. She was trained in ballet, Irish step dancing, modern dance, jazz and hip hop, he said.
“It's super sad her life and career were cut short,” Asca said. “She was doing everything a dancer could do. She was always working to be a better and artistic dancer. She was definitely living the dream as a dancer and living her dream in New York.”
The woman who suffered a fatal allergic reaction this month after consuming a cookie containing undeclared peanuts — sparking the Long Island manufacturer and a popular supermarket chain to exchange blame for the death — was identified Thursday as a professional dancer from the United Kingdom.
Órla Baxendale, 25, from Manchester, England but living in New York, consumed a vanilla Florentine cookie at a social gathering in Connecticut. The cookie was manufactured by wholesaler Cookies United in Islip and labeled with the Stew Leonard’s brand name, health officials said.
Baxendale suffered from anaphylactic shock on Jan. 11 after eating the cookie, said Howard Hershenhorn, the attorney for the victim's family.
An EpiPen, an auto-injector containing medication to decrease an allergic reaction, was administered to Baxendale at the gathering, but the dancer succumbed to the allergic reaction that day, Hershenhorn said.
On Tuesday, Stew Leonard's, which has locations in East Meadow and Farmingdale issued a recall on the cookies, indicating they were sold between Nov. 6 and Dec. 31. at Connecticut stores in Danbury and Newington.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection on Thursday warned that the cookies also contained eggs, another ingredient not on the label. Eggs are one of the major food allergens identified by the FDA that requires additional labeling.
Baxendale’s family informed state authorities about the incident when they traveled to the United States to return her body to the U.K., Hershenhorn said.
Cookies United in Islip and the Stew Leonard's store in Newington, Conn. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin; Google Maps
On Wednesday, Stew Leonard Jr., president of the supermarket chain, posted a video on the company's website saying that Cookies United changed the recipe from soy nuts to peanuts without notifying their chief safety officer.
“We have a very rigorous process that we use as far as labeling,” Leonard said in the video. “We take labels very seriously, especially peanuts.
Walker Flanary III, general counsel of Cookies United, said the company sent emails to 11 Stew Leonard's employees, notifying them that the product now contained peanuts. Flanary released a copy of one of those emails, along with labels created by the Islip bakery stipulating that the cookies contained peanuts.
The dancer's family was stunned at Stew Leonard’s video statement claiming her death was “someone else’s fault” and denying any accountability, Hershenhorn said.
Baxendale moved to New York in 2018 to train as a scholarship student at The Ailey School, according to the school's website. She worked with various choreographers and appeared in numerous professional productions, including at Lincoln Center, the school said.
One of the dance instructors, Guillermo Asca, said he taught Baxendale for about two years, specializing in the Horton full-body type of dance. She was trained in ballet, Irish step dancing, modern dance, jazz and hip hop, he said.
“It's super sad her life and career were cut short,” Asca said. “She was doing everything a dancer could do. She was always working to be a better and artistic dancer. She was definitely living the dream as a dancer and living her dream in New York.”
