Oregon School Incident: Students Accidentally Served Pretzels Contaminated with Oven Cleaner

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In an unsettling incident at Fowler Middle School in Tigard, a suburb of Portland, Oregon, students were unwittingly served pretzels contaminated with oven cleaner earlier this week. School officials have confirmed the mishap and are addressing the concerns raised by anxious parents and guardians.

The unfortunate event was communicated to families through an email from the school, which explained that the oven cleaner, mistakenly used, was in a granular form. This substance ended up being sprinkled onto the pretzels served to students.

“We acknowledge the understandable concerns surrounding the food-contamination incident on Monday, where a granular oven cleaner was erroneously applied to pretzels,” the email stated. “We apologize for this occurrence. Our commitment at Fowler and throughout the District is to the health and safety of our students, and incidents like these threaten the trust we strive to build with our community.”

In response to the incident, district officials informed KOIN, a Nexstar affiliate, that they promptly reached out to Oregon Poison Control and identified the students who might have been exposed. The affected students were closely monitored for any symptoms. However, the exact circumstances that led to this contamination remain unclear at this time.

The school has initiated an investigation to uncover the details of how this error occurred. Whilst the investigation continues, further information has yet to be released to the public.

“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.”