WARNING: Misleading ALDI Easter egg label leaves Aussie woman hospitalised
A Melbourne woman was rushed to hospital on Easter Sunday after eating what she believed was “dairy free” chocolate from ALDI.
Kaley, surname withheld, said she mistakenly purchased Easter chocolates labelled as “Dairy Dine”, which she and her mother misread as “Dairy Free”.
The nursing student, who has a serious milk and nut allergy, told 7 News that she went into anaphylactic shock seconds after eating a bite of the supermarket’s Easter bunny.
She spent the night in the intensive care unit as doctors treated her swelling throat with adrenaline.
“I’m still very unwell but I’m past my anaphylactic reaction and I’m very lucky that I did get through it,” she said.
“It’s one of my worst reactions.”
Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia has called for the manufacturers of the chocolate to “improve labelling to make it clearer for consumers with food allergies”.
The advocacy group’s CEO Maria Said told 7 News the “Dairy Fine” label should be replaced. “We’re not just talking about a rash here, we're talking about life or death,” she said.
“If they do keep the ‘Dairy Fine’ brand, it’s got to be in a clear, bold font legible on foil and cellophane.
“Thankfully [Kaley] survived, but we’ve had many, many people make the same complaint. They [ALDI] don’t want to wait for a fatality to finally make a change.”
An ALDI spokesperson said they could not comment on the matter as it had not been reported to them.
Kaley said she plans to bring the issue to the supermarket’s attention.
“I’ll definitely be taking it further. Their packaging is very misleading and not clear,” she said.
A representative for A&AA also advised shoppers to check all ingredient lists and warning statements.
“This issue also highlights the need to read the ingredient list and allergen statements everytime a product is purchased.”
Have you or someone you know been caught out by ALDI's "Dairy Fine" chocolate labels? Let us know in the comments below.