Washington Family Sues Safeway Over Elderly Woman’s Death Linked to Mislabeled Cookie

The family of a 78-year-old woman who died after allegedly consuming a mislabeled peanut butter cookie has filed a lawsuit against Safeway, claiming the grocery chain’s labeling error led to her untimely death, Fox News reports.

According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Margaret Jean Bryant purchased a package of cookies labeled as oatmeal raisin from her local Safeway store in Washington on April 7, 2023. However, the cookies allegedly contained peanut butter — a fatal allergen for Bryant.

Shortly after eating one of the cookies, Bryant became nauseous and went to the bathroom. Her husband found her unresponsive moments later and called emergency services. She was rushed to the hospital but died less than an hour later.

An autopsy later determined that the cause of death was food-induced anaphylaxis due to peanut exposure.

A month after Bryant’s death, Albertsons Companies — the parent company of Safeway — issued a recall of the same 18-count oatmeal raisin cookies sold at that location between April 5 and April 17, 2023. In a press release, the company acknowledged receiving a report that a package labeled as oatmeal raisin may have actually contained peanut butter cookies.

“The evidence clearly demonstrates that a deadly cookie mislabeled and sold by [Safeway] killed Margaret Jean Bryant, who had a loving family that truly adored her,” the lawsuit states. “Margaret Jean Bryant will be deeply missed, as she was an irreplaceable woman in the lives of her friends and family.”