SHA investigating beef seasoned with cleaner

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is apologizing and investigating after residents at a long-term care home in Carrot River were served roast beef that had been unintentionally seasoned with powdered hand cleaner.

“The (SHA) is very sorry for any anxiety this error may have caused our residents and their families. We are taking steps to make sure this does not happen again,” SHA spokesman Doug Dahl said in a statement.

According to Dahl, an employee “decanted” a commercially-available hand cleaner into a spice container and placed it by the facility ’s kitchen sink without changing the label.

On May 6, another employee who was unaware of the container’s contents used it to season the roast for the meal, Dahl said.

“Once it was discovered that the food had been tainted, none of the roast should have been served to the residents or staff members,” Dahl said.

“Instead, the outer portion of the roast was removed, the remainder of the roast was served for the meal.”

It is not clear how many of the 35 seniors living at the Carrot River Health Centre ate the tainted meal.

The provincial health authority isn’t commenting on what, if any, disciplinary action has been taken.

Dahl said information from the hand cleaner’s manufacturer indicated that it’s not dangerous if ingested.

A review determined “there was nothing unusual that would indicate anyone became ill” from eating the roast, Dahl said.

Residents’ families were notified of the incident by letter, in compliance with the SHA’S critical incident process, which is activated by any incident that has the potential to cause harm, he said.

All critical incidents require a report to be submitted to the Ministry of Health within 60 days.

“The SHA is reviewing our policies and procedures to make improvements and ensure all staff members understand the importance of accurate labels on all items,” Dahl said.

Carrot River is about 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, just east of Nipawin.