NEED TO KNOW
- Peggy Bryant, 78, died of a severe allergic reaction in April 2023 after eating a peanut butter cookie from Safeway that was mislabeled as an oatmeal raisin cookie
- Bryant was preparing to celebrate her 60th wedding anniversary with her high school sweetheart in a few months when she died
- Now, Bryant’s family is suing Safeway over the fatal mix-up
Peggy Bryant was preparing to celebrate her 60th wedding anniversary when her life was cut short by a mislabeled cookie.
The 78-year-old had just been shopping at a Safeway grocery store in Duvall, Wash., on April 7, 2023, when she decided to enjoy one of the snacks she had purchased — and one of her favorite treats — an oatmeal cookie, according to NBC affiliate KING-TV.
“My mom loved oatmeal raisin cookies,” Bryant’s daughter, Lisa Bishop, told the Seattle outlet.
But after just one bite of the Safeway brand baked good, Bryant noticed that the treat was something else entirely, Lisa claims.
“She realized that the cookie she was eating was actually a peanut butter cookie,” she told KING-TV, “and she’s deathly allergic to nuts, peanuts.”
Bryant was rushed to a nearby hospital, but died within the hour, Lisa recalled to the outlet. A coroner’s report later confirmed that anaphylaxis — a life-threatening allergic reaction — was the cause of her death, according to her son-in-law, Greg Bishop.
“When they got the blood results back, [the coroner] said it was clearly anaphylaxis,” Greg said. “Her blood vessels had basically broken down.”
Months before she could celebrate 60 years with her high school sweetheart, Bryant’s life was not only cut short, but her final moments “were tragic and awful and painful” — an upsetting end for someone who was “always filled with joy and fun,” Lisa told KING-TV.
Now, two years later, Bryant’s family is taking legal action.
After the fatal mix-up, the health department carried out an inspection, which led Safeway to issue a recall, according to the family’s complaint. But the family says it does not want any repeat incidents, especially because Bryant’s death was so preventable.
“I knew that we just had to do something,” Lisa told KING-TV. So the family filed a lawsuit against the grocery store chain.
Albertsons Companies, which owns Safeway, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, May 10.
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The family’s lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, seeks accountability for the error and aims to highlight the critical importance of proper food labeling.
“Do the right thing,” Lisa told KING-TV. “I don’t want it to happen to anybody else. Labels are there for a reason, and I don’t want anybody else to die from mislabeling.”
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