The mother of a 15-year-old girl who died after an allergic reaction to a Pret sandwich onboard a British Airways flight today blasted a new Snickers advert that shows a man eating the nutty snack on a plane.
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, from Fulham in West London, suffered a severe reaction to sesame seeds baked into an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she bought at Heathrow.
At the time shops did not have to list allergens on foods that had been freshly made on the premises.
In Snickers’ new ‘Hungry Skies’ commercial, travellers are shown enduring a chaotic atmosphere in the economy cabin before calm is restored when the chocolate bars are handed out.
The ad drew the ire of Natasha’s mother, who insisted the brand – owned by Mars – should not be encouraging aeroplane passengers to eat snacks containing nuts in case other people onboard were allergic to them.
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse with her brother Alex and parents Nadim and Tanya, who spoke out today to condemn a new Snicker’s advert
In Snickers’ new ‘Hungry Skies’ commercial, travellers are shown enduring a chaotic atmosphere in the economy cabin before calm is restored when the chocolate bars are eaten
The advert spoofs the unruly atmosphere on flights, with two passengers seen here having a makeover
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, told MailOnline: ‘We are shocked and surprised to see that Mars is using an aeroplane setting in their new campaign to promote Snickers bars which contain nuts.
‘For people with food allergies, travelling by plane can be fraught with anxiety. Encouraging people to eat a nut snack on a plane is insensitive and insulting to the millions of people living with food allergies.
‘At this time of year, when people are getting ready for their summer holidays, we would urge people travelling by plane to be understanding of those with food allergies, so that everyone can travel safely and without fear of a severe allergic reaction.’
The advert will first appear across TV, digital and social channels in the US and Australia before being introduced in Asia, Africa and the EU through the first quarter of 2025.
Following her tragic death in 2016, Natasha’s family successfully lobbied for ‘Natasha’s Law’, which makes allergy information a requirement for food made on site.
They have continued to be vocal campaigners, and earlier this year backed calls for the first drug found to protect against food allergies to be made available in the UK.
Xolair was shown to drastically slash the severity of reactions endured by patients allergic to foods like peanuts and cashews.
Researchers said the drug could revolutionise the lives of sufferers, even though it can’t guarantee they won’t suffer life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Instead, Xolair means they just need to worry less about consuming tiny amounts – such as what they might accidentally be exposed to in a restaurant.
Natasha suffered a severe reaction to sesame seeds baked into an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she bought at Heathrow
The drug has been given as an injection to asthma patients for two decades, but is not yet ready for the tens of thousands of Brits battling food allergies.
After news of the Xolair trial in February, Mr Ednan-Laperouse told Good Morning Britain: ‘There is no price on a child’s life for a parent, you’d do absolutely anything.’
He added that the drug might have even saved his daughter had it been available at the time.
Following her tragic death in 2016, Natasha’s family successfully lobbied for ‘Natasha’s Law’, which makes allergy information a requirement for food made on site
‘It could have worked for Natasha had it been available,’ he said.
Mr Ednan-Laperouse urged the drug makers to make the medication affordable for the cost-conscious NHS saying their drug had the potential to stop ‘the worst from happening’.
‘On behalf of the families, millions in this country, who would say ‘this is fascinating, can this help us’, I would make a somewhat impassioned appeal to the drug company here.
‘To the firm that makes the drug, they’ve made the money for 20 years and they’ve had the payback for all of their research and development and everything, the costs.
‘This is a chance for a pharmaceutical company to perhaps do the truly right thing by this country and the population of food allergic people and make this drug available at a fair and reasonable price and not at the cost we are seeing in the USA, currently for asthma which is about £4,000 per month.’
He also said that, beyond helping stop potentially life-threatening emergencies, such a drug would lift a massive burden of worry from many families who currently live in a state of constant hypervigilance.
‘The idea you can live a safer life, with less worry, less stress, on a day-to-day basis itself has a huge value,’ he said.
MailOnline has contacted Mars for comment.
