.
  1. Home
  2. State
  3. Mother says teen's death preventable with better cookie packaging

Mother says teen's death preventable with better cookie packaging

@ # State
cookies

(CBS) -- A mother shares the loss of her daughter to raise awareness about food packaging.

On June 25, 15-year-old Alexi Ryann Stafford was rushed to the hospital after eating a cookie at her friend's house. The cookie turned deadly in a matter of an hour and a half.

Kellie Travers-Stafford said it wasn't safe for her daughter to eat the cookie because it contained a "peanut product." Travers-Stafford said there was an open package of "Chips Ahoy!" cookies and the top flap of the package was pulled back. Because it was, the packaging was too similar to what previously had been deemed 'safe' for her to eat.

She posted to her Facebook on July 12 saying,

"She ate one cookie of chewy Chips Ahoy thinking it was safe because of the 'red' packaging, only to find out too late that there was an added ingredient.... Reese peanut butter cups/chips."

The mom posted a picture showing two packages of different Chips Ahoy packages. Even though the two show different labels, one clearly shows the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups logo.

"As a mother who diligently taught her the ropes of what was okay to ingest and what was not, I feel lost and angry because she knew her limits and was aware of familiar packaging, she knew what 'safe' was,"
she wrote.
"The company has different colored packaging to indicate chunky, chewy, or regular but NO screaming warnings about such a fatal ingredient to many people. Especially children."

Travers-Stafford hopes that many can learn a lesson and raise awareness for this horrible incident.

Chips Ahoy said Sunday on Twitter that it takes allergens "very seriously."

Travers-Stafford said: "The company has different colored packaging to indicate chunky, chewy, or regular but NO screaming warnings about such a fatal ingredient to many people. Especially children."