Tributes have been paid to a dancer from Lancashire who moved to the US and died after eating a biscuit that contained peanuts.
Órla Baxendale, 25, had a peanut allergy. She died on 11 January after going into anaphylactic shock caused by the mislabelled vanilla florentine cookie she ate.
Baxendale, originally from east Lancashire, had moved to New York to pursue her career as a professional dancer.
Her sister, the actor Ciara Baxendale, known for playing Izzy in E4’s My Mad Fat Diary, paid tribute on Instagram, describing Órla as radiant and a dreamer who was cherished by everyone.
“I will never ever, as long as I am on this earth, stop talking about how radiant, how beautiful, how kind, how cool, how hilarious, how witty, how vibrant she was.
“She had a golden touch. Everything about her was magical, she was just so otherworldly. She looks just like an angel, and I just cannot believe that she has gone.”
In a statement, her family said: “Órla was truly one of a kind. She was a beautiful, radiant, brave soul who always believed she would achieve her biggest dreams – and that’s exactly what she did. She danced her way across the world and lived life to the fullest every day.
“We will never recover from the pain of having her taken from us so soon, in the prime of her life. But we are also so proud to call her our daughter and sister, and to have had the privilege of sharing 25 years with such an incredibly special person.”
Elmhurst ballet school in Birmingham, from where Baxendale graduated in 2018, described her as a “radiant force” on and off the dance floor.
“Her authenticity and ability to stay true to herself resonated with all who had the privilege of knowing her, and she had a remarkable gift for lighting up any room she entered,” the school said.
Baxendale trained and competed in Irish dancing from an early age before training at the Northern Ballet Academy and Elmhirst. She was cast in the world premiere production of Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet and last June joined MOMIX Dance Company.
The biscuit was bought from a branch of Stew Leonard’s in Connecticut.
Baxendale’s lawyers in the US have said the death was preventable. In a statement, they said Órla’s family had been “overwhelmed and comforted by the outpouring of love, support, and tributes from around the world.
“Órla’s vibrant spirit and her relentless pursuit of excellence in her art have left an indelible mark on all who knew her.”
They said Baxendale had been “careful and hyper-vigilant” about everything she ate and always carried an Epi-Pen.
The cookies were produced by the Long Island-based wholesaler Cookies United and labelled with the Stew Leonard’s brand name, according to state officials.
Stew Leonard Jr, the retailer’s president and chief executive, said in a video post that the supplier had changed soy nuts to peanuts in the recipe without notifying their chief safety officer.
Cookies United said it had notified Stew Leonard’s last July that the product contained peanuts and that all products shipped to the retailer had been labelled accordingly. Cookies United said the incorrect label was created by Stew Leonard’s.
Stew Leonard’s has recalled all the mislabelled biscuits in partnership with the US Food and Drug Administration.
