Restaurant serves dish-washing drink

Press, 2 November 1989, Page 5

Restaurant serves dish-washing drink

PA Wellington A Wellington family and a manager at Chevys Restaurant choked and vomited on Saturday night after drinking a raspberry and lemonade drink containing industrial dish-washing chemicals.

The Health Department is considering a prosecution. The incident happened four months after a faulty food

warmer at the Wellington restaurant failed to keep dishes hot enough to stop bacteria from multiplying. The Health Department said 25 people had reported food-poisoning symptoms. On Saturday evening, Murray and Clare Adams and their son, Christopher, aged seven, and the Chevys manager had to go to hospital after they drank the raspberry and lemonade drink. The pink dish-washing fluid —

a strong alkaline chemical used for the dishwasher — was stored in a jug and accidentally put into a raspberry cordial bottle. The victims were discharged from hospital on Tuesday. A reporter was told a raspberry and lemonade was ordered for Christopher. He complained about the taste, so his parents both tasted it, _ then called a manager, who tasted it as well.

All four then began to choke and vomit and drove to Wellington Hospital’s accident and emergency department, where they were admitted for swelling of the throat and respiratory problems. The National Poisons Information Centre in Dunedin reported yesterday a caustic industrial glass-cleaning detergent was involved which would have burnt throat membranes.