Tragic Case of Mislabeled Cookies Leads to Lawsuit

A 78-year-old mother from Washington passed away a few months ago just shy of her 60th wedding anniversary, after eating cookies that were mislabeled at a local grocery store.

Peggy Bryant suffered a deadly allergic reaction when she bit into a store-branded peanut butter cookie that was incorrectly labeled as oatmeal raisin in April 2023, her daughter, Lisa Bishop, shared with King 5 News.

While shopping at Safeway in Duval, Washington, Bryant realized something was off after taking a bite of the cookie.

“My mother adored oatmeal raisin cookies,” Bishop recalled. “When she discovered they were actually peanut butter cookies, it was a matter of life and death, as she was severely allergic to peanuts.”

She was quickly transported to a nearby hospital but tragically passed away just an hour later.

According to Bryant’s son-in-law, Greg Bishop, the King County Coroner confirmed that she had died from anaphylaxis, which is a severe allergic reaction, stating that her “veins were basically broken.”

Recently, Bryant’s family announced they have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Safeway.

Safeway is owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc., which, almost a month after Bryant’s death, issued a voluntary recall due to a Food and Drug Administration notice that revealed oatmeal raisin cookies sold at the Duval location contained “undeclared peanuts and soy allergens.”

The FDA’s recall notice indicated that the affected cookies, sold between April 5th and April 17th, 2023, were packaged in clear plastic containers found in the store’s bakery section.

The recall specified that while there had been reports of cookies labeled as oatmeal raisin, they actually contained peanut butter, and, thus, peanuts and soy were not included in the ingredient list.

The statement mentioned, “There was one report of a serious adverse event,” but didn’t directly identify Bryant.

The family claims that Bryant’s death was preventable, expressing their grief over the tragedy. “The last few minutes of my mother’s life were heartbreaking and incredibly painful,” said Lisa Bishop.

She emphasized, “Please do the right thing. I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else. Labels exist for a reason.”

This incident echoes another tragic case where a young dancer, Orla Baxendale, 25, died in January 2024 after consuming an incorrectly labeled holiday cookie from a Stew Leonard’s supermarket. Baxendale suffered a severe allergic reaction to peanuts; her epinephrine auto-injector reportedly did not work. Her family’s lawsuit accused the store of gross negligence and failure to properly update ingredient labels.

In January 2025, the Baxendale family reached a settlement with Stew Leonard’s.