Suit claims Panera manager blamed language issue for peanut butter on allergic child's sandwich
A lawsuit filed last week alleges a Massachusetts Panera Bread restaurant put a large dollop of peanut butter on a child’s sandwich after her parents warned about her peanut allergy in the online order.
The suit filed on behalf of a 6-year-old Natick girl alleges the restaurant engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices by adding the peanut butter, causing the girl to vomit and break out in hives, the Boston Globe reports. The girl spent the night at the hospital.
The suit also alleges intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery.
The girl’s father, John Russo, says a manager at the restaurant blamed the mistake on a “language issue.”
Franchisee PR Restaurants owns the Panera Bread targeted in the suit. The operating partner, Mitchell Roberts, told the Boston Globe he was not aware of the lawsuit. The director of public affairs for Panera Bread declined to comment to the newspaper.
The restaurant includes a disclaimer on its website that it can’t guarantee its menu items are free of allergens because it uses shared equipment throughout it supply chain.
