McDonald’s apologizes over cleaning solution in latte

A southern Alberta mother who is pregnant with her third child says she was served a cleaning agent by a McDonald’s restaurant instead of the latte she ordered.

Sarah Douglas says she was taking her son to a baseball tournament Sunday morning in Lethbridge when they stopped at the drive-thru for the coffee.

When she took a sip, she knew something was wrong and pulled over to spit out the beverage.

Douglas says when she returned to the restaurant to complain, a staff member told her that two cleaning lines were hooked up to the latte machine.

She then contacted Alberta Health Services’ Health Link and was transferred to poison control.

A spokeswoman for McDonald’s issued an apology on behalf of Dan Brown, the restaurant franchisee.

Douglas says she wanted to share her experience to ensure this never happens again.

“As a mother, I want to make sure I have a voice and that I’m being heard in terms of the safety of consumers, and how (alleged) negligence can affect people in such a drastic way,” she said.

Alberta Health Services says public health officers are investigating.

McDonald’s says a health inspector has visited the restaurant and is not investigating further.

“What happened is that the machine was being cleaned — as it is every morning. Unfortunately, the milk supply line was connected to the cleaning solution while this guest’s drink was made,” Brown said in a statement.

“We have taken immediate action to review the proper cleaning procedures with the team and have put additional signage up as an added reminder.”