Oregon lawsuit says 50 middle schoolers were served pretzels seasoned with oven cleaner

Students ate tainted pretzels

More than 50 students ate some or all of the affected pretzels, according to Tigard-Tualatin School District records obtained by Fox 12. The incident took place last fall in Oregon.

The district said a kitchen worker mistakenly believed the cleaner was salt. Tigard Police reviewed the case last year and did not bring criminal charges.

Student describes pain and monitoring

The student named in the lawsuit as L.L. ate one of the pretzels and immediately experienced burning in his mouth and throat, chest pain and an upset stomach, the report says.

The suit alleges staff kept L.L. in a room for about an hour for examination and monitoring without informing his parents. Staff later returned him to class after saying he had no symptoms; he went home with a sore throat and stomach pain.

Lawsuit alleges safety failures

The lawsuit accuses the district of failing to keep caustic chemicals away from food and to train employees in handling them. It also alleges crushed cleaner was left on a kitchen counter and used as seasoning.

Substitute worker raised concern

According to the lawsuit, substitute kitchen worker Chloe Larson noticed the chemical being used as seasoning and pressed the lead kitchen worker to investigate. The suit says Larson was interviewed only after she contacted police about her concerns. It also alleges L.L.’s family was excluded from medical decisions and that the student faced a known danger.