Happy Meal: Two-year-old girl hospitalised after drinking ‘McDonald’s water bottle filled with disinfectant'
A two-year-old girl has been hospitalised after drinking from a McDonald’s bottle that may have contained disinfectant.
The horrifying incident took place at a branch of McDonald’s in Kassel, Germany on 20 November. The girl’s mother said she ordered a Happy Meal with a still water for her young daughter.
But as soon as the unsuspecting toddler drank from the bottle, she quickly turned red and started screaming in pain. The 34-year-old mother maintains that the cap was tightly sealed.
However, there was apparently no water inside the bottle. Instead, there was a “strongly alcoholic-smelling liquid”.
The mother believes it was some sort of cleaning or disinfectant product. She quickly ran inside to confront the restaurant staff, but claims that they did not take her seriously.
An ambulance arrived to treat the child after her mother was forced to call emergency services. Although she was treated at the scene, she was later taken to hospital to rule out any possibility of poisoning.
Authorities later said that the child was fine and had been very lucky to avoid serious injury. The police later said that they suspected that the bottle had been used by cleaning staff.
They are currently investigating negligent bodily harm. A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “We are fully cooperating with the investigation.”
She added that they were “moved by the events” but were not in the position to make any further statement. The contents of the bottle have since been retrieved and sent for analysis.