
Alexi Stafford was at a friend’s house last month when she made a simple error that would claim her life within hours.
Now, her grieving mother is warning other allergy-sufferers and their parents to remain vigilant about what food they choose to eat.
In a heart-wrenching Facebook post she asked others to share, Florida mum Kellie Travers-Stafford explained how her 15-year-old daughter made one simple, but “fatal choice”.
“Our hearts are broken and we are still in shock. Our whole lives we dedicated to keeping our child safe from one ingredient, peanuts,” she began.
Travers-Stafford described how on 25 June Alexi was at a friend’s house and saw an open package of Chips Ahoy cookies on offer. The teen, from Weston, Florida, had been warned by her parents to stay away from foods containing nuts or traces of, but the family had previously figured out that this particular type of cookie was fine.

But what Alexi didn't realise was that this look-alike biscuit packet actually contained cookies with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
"The top flap of the package was pulled back and the packaging was too similar to what we had previously deemed 'safe' to her.
"She ate one cookie of chewy Chips Ahoy thinking it was safe because of the 'red' packaging, only to find out too late that there was an added ingredient.... Reese's peanut butter cups/chips."
Alexi immediately felt that something was wrong.
"She started feeling tingling in her mouth and came straight home. Her condition rapidly deteriorated," her mum described.
"She went into Anaphylactic shock, stopped breathing and went unconscious. We administered two EpiPens while she was conscious and waited on paramedics for what felt like an eternity."
Sadly, paramedics couldn't save her and she died "within one and a half hours of eating the cookie".
Posting a photo of two incredibly similar-looking packets - one containing the peanut chocolates, the other not, Travers-Stafford expressed her frustration.
Top Comments
How awful, such an easy mistake to make. I hope the biscuit company will take notice and make their packaging different.