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The family of a 78-year-old woman who died after taking one bite of a grocery store cookie.
Have launched legal action against the supermarket.
Peggy Bryant, 78, from Washington, was just months away from her 60th wedding anniversary when she bought what she thought were oatmeal raisin cookies in April 2023.
After taking a bite, she immediately sensed something was wrong.
Her family claims the cookie—purchased from Safeway in Duvall, Washington—was actually a mislabeled peanut butter cookie, triggering a fatal allergic reaction.
Her daughter Lisa Bishop told KING 5 News, “She loved oatmeal raisin cookies.
She realized it was peanut butter—and she’s deathly allergic.”
Bryant was rushed to the hospital but died an hour later from anaphylaxis.
Her son-in-law Greg Bishop said the King County Coroner found her “blood vessels had basically broken down.”
Bryant’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Safeway on Thursday, following the 78-year-old’s fatal allergic reaction.
Nearly a month after her death, Albertsons Companies, Inc.—Safeway’s parent company—issued a voluntary recall of oatmeal raisin cookies sold at the Duvall, WA, location due to undeclared peanut and soy allergens.
The FDA recall noted that an 18-count cookie package may have been mislabeled as oatmeal raisin but contained peanut butter cookies.
The packaging lacked allergen warnings and was sold in clear plastic containers between April 5–17, 2023.
The recall acknowledged “one report of a serious adverse event.”
Bryant’s family believes her death was entirely preventable had the labeling been accurate.
Lisa Bishop, Bryant’s daughter, said:
“The last few minutes of my mom’s life were tragic and painful. Labels exist for a reason. I don’t want anyone else to die from mislabeling.”
This isn’t an isolated case. In January 2024, 25-year-old dancer Orla Baxendale also died after eating a mislabeled cookie from a Stew Leonard’s store.
Baxendale had a severe peanut allergy and tragically couldn’t recover after her EpiPen failed to stop the reaction, according to her family’s lawyer.
Her family accused Stew Leonard’s of “gross negligence and reckless indifference,” claiming professionals knowingly failed to update the cookie’s ingredient label.
In January 2025, the family reached an undisclosed settlement with the store, the Connecticut Post reported.
Our thoughts remain with both families in the wake of these heartbreaking losses.
