What to Keep in Mind When You See the Story of the Girl Who Died From a Peanut Chips Ahoy! Cookie
It was late at night and I was away with my sister-in-law for a girl’s weekend. I admit I may have even had a drink. In hindsight, I can tell you firmly this is not the time to order my groceries online, especially when you have a child with a life-threatening peanut allergy. I should have known better. After all, I am not just a food allergy mom, but a food allergy advocate who has met her share of parents who have lost a child due to food induced anaphylaxis. Still, I made an error that could have been fatal.
I placed the order for fruits, vegetables, a few staples and then decided to add ice cream cones to the mix. I vaguely remember clicking on the brand I knew to be safe and then placed the order. Two days later, I got what can only be described as an incredulous call from my husband saying, “Are you trying to kill Josh while you are gone?” Apparently, I had clicked in error on ice cream cones that came studded with peanuts. Not made in a factory, not “may contain,” but the actual peanuts themselves. Thankfully, my husband caught it before my son could have made himself an ice cream cone.
I’ve been thinking about my online shopping error when I read about the death of Alexi Stafford (age 15) who died recently due to an anaphylactic food allergy reaction. Alexi was at a friend’s house and mistakenly ate what she believed to be a plain chocolate chip cookie, however, this one contained peanuts. Her grieving mother took to social media to describe the Chips Ahoy! Red packaging which had lulled her daughter in to believing this was the safe snack she usually ate.
It is all too easy to paint the picture of a teenager, hungry and quick to grab a snack, glancing at a package that looked familiar and eating a cookie. It is so frightening that even a teenager trained to do everything “right” regarding her food allergy can so easily make a fatal mistake. The package was peeled back to access the cookies, so that all she could see was the red color packaging (the same color as the same brand safe cookies she usually ate at home).
Social media can be a wonderful way to spread awareness — the goal of the Stafford family was to share private details of a horrific event to prevent future tragedies. But it is truly a double-edged sword as many people online are saying because Alexi could read, she somehow deserves what happened to her. They also fault her mother. Both of these criticisms are reprehensible. As my own story illustrates, we are all fallible. No one is perfect, yet for food allergies, falling short of the mark of perfection can be deadly. When sharing the story on my website nonuttraveler.com, so many people came out of the woodworks to discuss similar “slip-ups” and near misses.
I’m not reading comments, but whoever thinks they couldn’t make this mistake either has no empathy or is not being honest with themselves. Almost 3 decades of reading labels & I still make mistakes. I share those mistakes because it’s important to know it can happen. #behonest https://t.co/ay2Ej9NcWy
— Allie Bahn (@AllergicReactor) July 18, 2018
To those who claim they would NEVER make a mistake- I don't think its ever intentional but it happens.
Sharing how it happened may very well save a life in the future
Leveling criticism at grieving family of #foodallergy fatality accomplishes WHAT?
I really want to know https://t.co/NLqOVoGsNt— Lianne Mandelbaum (@NoNutTraveler) July 18, 2018
Blame is a funny thing- careful because we are all human and to err is human
Those blaming the family – I still continue to ask to what aim?
Sharing story was NOT for 5 minutes of fame- their child is dead
They aim 2 help the community- for that we should be #grateful https://t.co/8TdIrI2QRD— Lianne Mandelbaum (@NoNutTraveler) July 18, 2018
To those who are saying that "its her fault" because she can read- it can happen to anyone, to an ADULT- I have made errors -family came forward to warn others to avoid mistake-only thing to say to them is thank you and I’m sorry for your loss https://t.co/vk07auYAxO see below
— Lianne Mandelbaum (@NoNutTraveler) July 18, 2018
I am thankful this family came forward, not only so I can warn my peanut allergic 12-year-old son of Alexi’s mistake, but also because spreading awareness in the public space about the real dangers of food allergies is vital so that future tragedies can be avoided.
Lianne graduated Phi Beta Kappa from SUNY Albany in 1991, and earned an M.S. in Physical Therapy from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1997. In Nov 2013 , following a negative travel experience, launched The No Nut Traveler, http://www.nonuttraveler.com, a website with resources and advocacy tools for those flying with food allergies, stories from passengers and a petition drive http://www.nonuttraveler.com/SignPetition.aspx with over 90,000 signatures urging action. Married and has three children: one allergic to nuts. She was the recipient of the 2013 FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) leadership award and 2017 FARE Vision Award. She is a member of a FARE led coalition formed to present a unified voice regarding the steps that the airline industry can take to better accommodate passengers with food allergies. This coalition is responsible for championing Bill S1972 introduced August 2015 in US Senate- which would put easy to use auto-injectors on-board airlines. She has been a regular panelist for IFAAA (International Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Alliance) presenting on the myriad of challenges passengers face when flying with food allergy. Lianne is also a regular presenter for FABlogCon (Food Allergy Bloggers Conference). Her tips for flying with a food allergy were featured in a piece for the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research at Stanford. Most recently, Lianne has worked with Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex County, an organization that houses homeless families in churches and synagogues to help train and educate volunteer coordinators and staff on how to host families who come into the network with food allergies. In addition to her advocacy work, Lianne also serves as the co-chair of FARE’s New York Food Allergy Ball, helping to raise funds in support of FARE’s mission. She is the co-coordinator of the Social Outreach Team at Temple B’nai Jeshurun for Interfaith Hospitality Network and will be honored in the spring of 2018 for being one of the founders of this program at her synagogue. She is responsible for creating and successfully executing a toy drive benefitting sexually abused children who receive therapy at RDTC in Newark, NJ for the past 8 years.
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