Makers of a vegan tiramisu dessert that apparently triggered a deadly allergic reaction in a 20-year-old woman are set to go on trial for manslaughter in Italy.
Anna Bellisario was allergic to dairy products and died after eating four spoonfuls of the creamy dessert, which contained traces of mascarpone cheese.
Now Milan’s Deputy Prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano and prosecutor Luca Gaglio have demanded the indictment of the bosses of Glg srl, the family firm that produced the dessert.
Local media said that Giuseppe Loiero and his mother Giovanna Anoia will face trial after prosecutors discovered damning communications between the two.
One admitted that they had not considered allergy sufferers when creating vegan recipes.
Victim Anna Bellisario died in hospital in February last year 10 days after suffering a massive anaphylactic shock just minutes after eating the dessert at a burger bar in Milan.
After her death Italy’s Health Ministry withdrew several products marketed as vegan but where there was a “suspected presence of allergens not declared on the label”.
Many of them had reportedly been produced by the Glg company.
Investigators claim that the dessert contained a high quantity of milk proteins due to the incorrect use of mascarpone in the production of cream intended for the tiramisu.
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Prosecutors also said that the mascarpone was not a contamination in the desert but was in fact being used as an active ingredient.
Police unearthed “critical issues” with food safety and production procedures, according to local media.
Prosecutors will say that vegan and no vegan foods were stored and prepared side by side with a high chance of cross-contamination.
And some staff, according to local media, had no idea what ‘vegan’ even means.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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