Family sue cookie company for £7.1 million after nan, 78, collapses and dies 'from eating mislabeled cookie'

A family has filed a lawsuit against American grocery giant Safeway claiming their 78-year-old grandmother died after eating a peanut butter that they say was labeled incorrectly.

Margaret Jean "Peggy" Bryant purchased a cookie which her family claim was packaged as an oatmeal raisin cookie from a Safeway store in Duvall, on April 7, 2023. But, soon after atting the cookie she went to the bathroom, where she was found unresponsive by her husband, Dennis, a short while later.

He called emergency services, and an ambulance arrived. But shortly thereafter, she went into cardiac arrest and despit the best efforts of mdical teams she tragically later died. Legal documents obtained by state that Bryant - who was allergic to peanuts - ate one of the cookies and almost immediately felt unwell.

READ MORE:

Peggy and Dennis, who were childhood sweethearts, had been married for 59 years and were due to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary shortly after the incident took place.

On the Safeway website the cookies are described as: "Freshly baked in-store, our cookies are made with 100% butter and crafted with premium ingredients like fine chocolate, dried fruits and nuts to give you the ultimate cookie experience. Without the addition of artificial colours or flavours, count on our classic favourites to make every occassion just a little bit sweeter."

The lawsuit stated that the family claim they later discovered that the cookies purchased were actually peanut butter, and alleged that the product was incorrectly labelled by staff at the Duvall Safeway bakery as oatmeal raisin.

The autopsy performed on Bryant concluded that her manner of death was an "accident," with the 78-year-old dying from food-induced anaphylaxis and peanut toxicity. The health department did an inspection and requested a recall, which Safeway issued in response., reports

The Bryant family is suing the grocery chain for £7.1 million ($9.5 million). In a formal letter the family wrote: "Obviously, no amount of money can compensate for this loss."They described Peggy as "an active, healthy, warm, vibrant, loving woman with a bright smile" who "still had many years left to enjoy, love and support her husband, children and grandchildren, extended family and future blessings of great-grandchildren," the family's lawyer added.

Lisa Bishop, Bryant's daughter, told local station KBTX that she wants Safeway to "do the right thing". According to Bishop, and the the lawsuit, Bryant endured “unimaginable pain and suffering shortly before her death.”

The has reached out to Albertson Companies, which owns Safeway, for comment.