Agreement Reached Between Stew Leonard's, CT Consumer Protection Over 'Mislabeled Cookies'

NORWALK, CT — An agreement was reached between Stew Leonard's and the state Department of Consumer Protection last year following the death of a New York woman in January 2024 after she ate a cookie at a gathering in Connecticut.

Órla Ruth Baxendale, a 25-year-old professional dancer who moved to New York from East Lancashire, U.K., to pursue her career, died just over a year ago after eating vanilla Florentine cookies manufactured by Cookies United and sold at Stew Leonard's, according to her family's attorney.

Kaitlyn Krasselt, director of communications for the state Department of Consumer Protection, confirmed to Patch the department's "investigation into mislabeled cookies that contained nuts" sold at Stew Leonard's stores in Connecticut had concluded, and an assurance of voluntary compliance was accepted and signed in June.

Krasselt noted the department's priority throughout the investigation was "protecting public health and safety and preventing any similar tragic incident from occurring in the future."

"Our thoughts remain with the family of Órla Baxendale," Krasselt said in an email to Patch.

According to Krasselt, DCP entered into a settlement agreement with Stew Leonards as a result of the investigation requiring them to:

• Designate an internal compliance manager, responsible for food safety, training and reporting.
• Establish and maintain written storewide policies and procedures for proper and accurate labeling of supplier provided foods that are relabeled, as well as on-site produced foods labeled by Stew Leonard's. The policies and procedures must also establish written protocols for handling customer complaints, and include instructions for escalation to senior management and the internal compliance manager. The policies and procedures must be reviewed annually and revised as needed.
• Provide annual policy and procedure training for all current and new employees with any responsibility for food handling
• Select and contract an independent third-party compliance monitor for a period of three years, beginning July 1, 2024.

Stew Leonard's was also required to pay $50,000 to DCP to be used by the department for consumer education and outreach. The company submitted the payment in June, according to Krasselt.

She also noted planning for educational food safety programs hosted by DCP's Food and Standards division has already commenced.

Stew Leonard's was also required to provide a donation of $200,000 to one or more nationally recognized not-for-profit organizations with a focus on food allergy and anaphylaxis research, prevention and awareness.

Krasselt said Stew Leonard's notified the department they had donated $200,000 to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

A Stew Leonard's spokesperson declined to provide a statement Monday as the company is unable to comment on pending litigation.

See also:

• Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Stew Leonard's, Bakery Over Cookie-Related Death
• Cookies Recalled By Stew Leonard's After Death At CT Gathering: DCP
• Dancer Identified As Victim In Deadly Allergen Labeling Case Involving Stew Leonard's

A 42-page lawsuit was filed back in May against Stew Leonard's and Cookies United by New York law firm Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf on behalf of Baxendale's estate, which claimed she was killed after consuming a "deadly cookie" that contained peanuts not declared on the product label.

Baxendale had a known severe peanut allergy and relied on product labeling to ensure her safety, the lawsuit notes.

In an accompanying news release, the law firm accused Stew Leonard's of "gross negligence and reckless indifference by failing to properly label the package of cookies, causing Ms. Baxendale's death."

On Jan. 23, 2024, Stew Leonard's and the Food and Drug Administration issued a recall of vanilla Florentine cookies sold at the company's stores in Danbury and Newington from Nov. 6 to Dec. 31, 2023.

The lawsuit indicates these cookies were consumed by Baxendale on Jan. 11, 2024, after which she "experienced an anaphylactic reaction causing shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and swallowing, dizziness, wheezing, chest tightness, lightheadedness, increased heartrate, sudden weakness, feeling of doom and dread with accompanying terror, cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness and death."

The lawsuit also claims at least 11 employees of Stew Leonard's were notified by email in July 2023 of a change in ingredients, including the addition of peanuts to the cookie recipe, by New York-based Cookies United, who manufactured the product for sale under the Stew Leonard's brand name.

At the time of the recall in January, CEO Stew Leonard Jr. said in a statement the company was not informed of the change in ingredients.

"This has never happened at Stew Leonard's before," Leonard Jr. said in the statement sent to Patch earlier this year. "We have very strict food safety practices and one of them is having all proper ingredients listed on our labels. Unfortunately, we are buying these cookies from a company who never told us they changed the ingredients. We sold them in good faith and one customer was affected. We were devastated to learn this news and our family is sending our deepest condolences."

The lawsuit claims the statement "proved to be false" and referenced a statement later released by Cookies United that indicated the company informed Stew Leonard's of the addition of peanuts to the products in July 2023 and that "all products shipped to them have been labeled accordingly. This product is sold under the Stew Leonard's brand and repackaged at their facilities. The incorrect label was created by, and applied to, their product by Stew Leonard's."

Cookies United later released a second statement containing a communication allegedly sent to 11 employees of Stew Leonard's on July 20, 2023, providing the new labels and nutrition fact panel, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also accuses Cookies United of failing to properly notify Stew Leonard's of the ingredient change, failing to properly label that the Florentine cookies contained peanuts and distributing the cookies without proper warnings, among other accusations.

A request for comment from the Baxendale family's attorney regarding the status of the lawsuit was not immediately returned Monday.

Stew Leonard's currently operates stores in Norwalk, Danbury and Newington, as well as a number of stores in New York and New Jersey.