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Preschoolers served Pine-Sol in juice mix-up

Posted at 11:17 AM, Dec 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-03 11:17:38-05

HONOLULU – Instead of apple juice, children at a Hawaii preschool were served Pine-Sol by mistake, according to a Hawaii Department of Health report.

A classroom assistant at Kilohana United Methodist Church in East Oahu was preparing a snack for the children and grabbed a bottle of the cleaning liquid from a clean-up cart in the kitchen on November 27. The assistant apparently mistook it for apple juice because of its similar color, the school’s director told the health department inspector.

The teacher was helping students in the restroom when the assistant poured the Pine-Sol into cups in the classroom. The teacher “smelled that it was not apple juice and stopped the students from drinking it,” according to the report.

The cleaning liquid was in the original Pine-Sol bottle with its label. The inspector noted that a rubbish can and other cleaning supplies were on the cart, and no food items.

CNN affiliate KHON reports that emergency medical services evaluated three students who took small sips of the cleaning liquid, but none needed treatment.

The assistant no longer works at the school, KHON reports.