A McDonald’s outlet in Alberta, Canada, has apologized after serving a pregnant woman a cup containing a chemical cleaning fluid instead of the latte.
Sarah Douglas, who is
nearly seven months pregnant with her third child, told Lethbridge News Now
that she was taking her son to a baseball tournament when she ordered a latte
at the McDonald's drive-through Sunday.
After taking a sip of
what she thought was her coffee, she was forced to pull over on a highway and
spit it out. She grabbed some water in her car and rinsed out her mouth.
“I opened up the lid
of the coffee and out pours this pungent smell of chemical,” Douglas said. “It
wasn’t a latte at all.”
She said her cup
contained watery brownish liquid.
Douglas said she drove
back to the McDonald’s where a worker told her that two cleaning lines were mixed
up to the latte machine.
According to the owner of the McDonald’s franchise, the milk
supply line was accidentally connected to the cleaning solution while Douglas’s
drink was being made.
In a statement by
McDonald’s Canada, franchisee Dan Brown said, “What happened is that the
machine was being cleaned — as it is every morning. Unfortunately, the milk
supply line was connected to the cleaning solution while this guest’s drink was
made.”
Brown said that since
learning about the complaint, his team was in close contact with Douglas and
had apologized to her.
“McDonald’s is renowned for its food safety protocols and I am
sorry that this happened in my restaurant here in Lethbridge,” Brown said.
“We have taken immediate action to review the
proper cleaning procedures with the team and have put additional signage up as
an added reminder,” Brown’s statement said.
Brown said that the
health inspector had visited his restaurant and was “not investigating
further.”
In a statement to
local media outlets, Alberta Health Services said they were investigating the
complaint.
Douglas said that another staff member at the McDonald’s
overheard her conversation with the supervisor and said that this had happened
before and was “a little mad that it was occurring again.”
Douglas took a photo
of the cleaning agent bottle and contacted Alberta Health Services. She said
she was transferred to poison control who informed her that it was an
acid-based solution,
The label of the
cleaning agent warned users that it could cause “serious eye irritation” and
“an allergic skin reaction.” It also advised users to wear protective gloves
and eye protection.
Douglas said that she went
to see a doctor but did not have any lingering effects as she did not swallow
the cleaning liquid.
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