JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Food allergies affect some 12 million people in the United States. A Jacksonville mother found this out the hard way. She's now trying to make sure people understand how dangerous they can be.
Katie Hunsdorf told Channel 4 her oldest daughter is allergic to a lot of foods, including eggs. Hunsdorf said she bought a lemon bar cake at a Fleming Island Winn-Dixie near her home. She said she inspected the label carefully and saw no eggs listed in the ingredients.
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Hunsdorf said when she gave her 5-year-old daughter, Hannah, a bite of the cake, Hannah started grabbing at her throat and tugging at her ears. Hunsdorf said her daughter later started having breathing issues.
Hunsdorf said Hannah was having a severe reaction to the egg in the cake. She gave Hannah an EpiPen shot at home, and then had to give her another shot on the way to the hospital.
Hunsdorf said she now wants all parents to know about what happened. She said what seemed like a harmless cake nearly killed her daughter. She said it's Winn-Dixie's fault for not putting the right ingredients on the label.
Winn-Dixie released this written statement about the incident: "We are grateful that a loyal customer brought this to our attention so that it could be properly addressed. Winn-Dixie is conducting a thorough investigation to determine how the breakdown in communication happened, and we are taking the necessary steps to prevent it from reoccurring. Most importantly, we are thankful that the child is recovering."
Hunsdorf said she is thankful, too, but is concerned that someone else could have been killed.