PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Officials at a middle school in the Portland, Oregon, suburb of Tigard have confirmed that students were served pretzels with oven cleaner sprinkled on them earlier this week.
In an email sent out to families of Fowler Middle School, officials said that the oven cleaner used was in granular form and “mistakenly applied” to the pretzels.
“Understandably, we’ve heard a lot of concern around Monday’s food-contamination accident, in which an oven cleaner in granular form was mistakenly applied to pretzels,” the email read. “We are sorry this happened. All of us at Fowler and across the District are dedicated to the well-being of our students, and when something like this occurs, it disrupts the trust that we work so hard to build.”
After the incident, district officials told Nexstar’s KOIN that they contacted Oregon Poison Control, identified affected students, and monitored students for symptoms, but it remains unclear how the contamination happened.
According to the email, an investigation is ongoing, but more information has not been shared.
“At this time, a formal inquiry is underway,” the email read. “While we are limited in what we can share while that process is ongoing, please know that it is being handled with the seriousness and care it deserves. We are reviewing all safety protocols to ensure that an incident like this does not happen again.”
On Tuesday, KOIN spoke with a parent, Kianna Bell, who received a voicemail from the school that her child had eaten one of the contaminated pretzels.
“This is Sharon Mitchell with Hazel or — Fowler Middle School, and you should have received communication sent out today regarding the food contamination. During sixth grade lunch, your student reported that they ate at least a part of a pretzel that was sprinkled with oven cleaner.”
Bell, as well as other parents, are saying they deserve a clear answer about what happened.
“Because they haven’t given us any contextual information, it’s pretty much just like we follow protocol, we call poison control. We’re managing symptoms,” Bell said. “But I want accountability. I want preventative measure. I want an investigation. I want an explanation. Without that, all I can do is speculate.”
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