The sad end of the promise of the dancer who died while eating a biscuit: «It was a source of joy»

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a brilliant soul, Orla Baxendale, dancer, partner and friend who left us too soon at the age of 25, on January 11, 2024.” Thus begins the poignant farewell message that the MOMIX dance academy dedicated to its young promise.

Tragedy struck on that fateful January 11 when the British woman took advantage of a break during a trial to purchase Florentine vanilla biscuits at the Stew Leonard’s supermarket branch in New Milford, Connecticut.

She has been living in the United States (in New York) for 6 years pursuing her dream of becoming an international dancer. At that particular moment she was preparing to make the big leap into the comedy “Alice in Wonderland”.

Órla didn’t know that her simple decision to eat the Florentine steak would cost her her life. After ingesting them, the girl suffered a anaphylactic shock mortal. The attack was so strong that not even the epinephrine injector saved her.

An absurd death

Órla was allergic to peanuts, that’s why she was very careful about everything she ate. She carried the epinephrine injector with her everywhere and usually surrounded herself with people who knew how to use it in an emergency.

I always checked whether the food products I bought contained peanuts. Fiorentina ate the biscuits calmly because she analyzed their label and saw that her recipe was free of that food. Therefore, his lawyer and her family concluded this way The tragedy was avoidable and due to poor food labelling.

Marijo Adimeythe Baxendales’ lawyer, said that Órla died because the biscuit she ate contained peanuts and the label did not mention it.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that Órla’s death occurred due to gross negligence and reckless conduct of the manufacturer and sellers who did not correctly identify the contents of the biscuit on the packaging. This lack of adequate disclosure has led to this devastating, yet avoidable outcome,” the lawyer said.

In response, the supermarket chain that sold the cookies wanted to get rid of the problem by blaming Cookies United, the manufacturer of the vanilla Florentine.

Stew Leonard claimed that Cookies United changed the recipe from soybeans to peanuts, and the company’s director of safety was never contacted.

Cookies United responded by placing the blame on Stew’s Leonard. A company representative said that in July last year he had informed the chain of the change because the products are labeled there.

After Órla’s death the Florentines were removed from the shelves of all the shops in the area.

Impeccable student: how her loved ones remember her

Baxendale has heard dance since she was little. She was incredibly talented. Originally from Manchester, England, she began her Irish dance studies at the Phoenix Academy of Irish Dancing and then attended various academies until arriving in New York.

He studied at the Northern Ballet Academy, Leeds, and later at the Elmhurst Ballet School, Birmingham, both in England.

It was 2018 when she moved to the United States to join the Ailey School as a scholarship student. There she worked with several renowned choreographers and she also performed at the fashion week. You were also part of a dance and theater production presented at Lincoln Center in New York.

In MOMIX’s farewell post, the company describes it as “an embodiment of enthusiasm, strength and beauty. Known for her eccentric character and boundless love for those around her, she was a source of joy and inspiration for all”.

His sister, Niamhshe made a Facebook post on behalf of her entire family stating that she and her family are “devastated“For the loss.

The Baxendales will now try to raise awareness of allergies. “It is incomprehensible that allergies can still kill in 2024. Please read about anaphylaxis because one day you may help save someone’s life. Anaphylaxis in the UK,” wrote Niamh.

Órla’s sister urged her to donate to Allergy UK, an organization which is raising the profile of allergies and trying to get better product labelling.