A child aged seven suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating a chocolate croissant that had no proper labelling of allergen products, a court has been told. A Co Meath convenience store company Gerard Ellis and Sons Ltd of Athboy Road, Trim was prosecuted by the Health Service Executive (Hse) for breaches of food safety regulations.
Prosecuting solicitor David McEntee told Navan District Curt that authorised officers of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland had received a complaint concerning a severe allergic reaction suffered by a seven-year-old child following consumption of a chocolate croissant purchased from Fresh Today located at Eamonn Duggan Industrial Estate in Trim.
The complaint declared that allergens were not properly declared on the product label. The child had diagnosed allergies for hazelnuts and eggs consumed a portion of the croissant labelled as only containing wheat and butter. The child suffered nausea and difficulty with breathing, chest tightness, rashes and swelling requiring medication. An inspector visited the food premises on 3rd June 2025 in relation to food labelling practices and a review of the original manufacturer’s specifications. It was found that the product supplied by the manufacturer contained egg and hazelnuts but the product had been removed from its original packaging and re-packed and relabelled in store. The labelling failed to declare the egg and hazelnut content.
Defending solicitor Maurice Regan said that the incident occurred on the Saturday of a bank holiday weekend and his client notified the Hse of the incident on the following Tuesday. The company accepted the product was incorrectly labelled They had now discontinued that line of product and had stopped labelling material in the shop itself. Everything coming into the store was now properly labelled and packaged.
There were no previous convictions. The company was fined a total of €2,000 and Judge Gerard Jones directed that €2,000 donation should be offered for the child.
