Kids treated after being served Pine-Sol instead of apple juice at preschool

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Three children at an East Honolulu preschool were served Pine-Sol instead of apple juice earlier this week, and took several sips of the cleaning fluid before child care workers realized the mistake.

A state Health Department investigation found that a classroom assistant preparing morning snacks for children at Kilohana United Methodist Church Preschool served the cleaning fluid — even though it was in the original Pine-Sol container and properly labeled.

The assistant apparently “saw the yellow/brown colored liquid container on a clean-up cart in the kitchen and returned to the classroom” with it, the Health Department said in its review.

The clean-up cart had no other food items on it.

Paramedics were called for the incident, which happened Tuesday morning.

Three young girls, a 4-year-old and two 5-year-olds, were treated at the preschool and had no apparent signs of trauma or sickness. They were not taken to a hospital.

In a letter to parents, the preschool called the incident “unfortunate” and said none of the children were injured.

“Only sips were taken before the lead teacher realized the liquid was not apple juice," the preschool said. “The staff responded immediately by calling EMS and police. The children’s parents were immediately notified as well.”

The school said it will be “scrutinizing the process of obtaining snacks and refreshments to rule out the smallest possibility of an occurrence like this from happening again.”

Preschool staff are also undergoing mandatory training.

At the school Friday, several parents said they were shocked when they found out about the incident.

“I was stunned. Absolutely stunned," one parents said.

On its website, Kilohana says it’s licensed to admit 68 students, ages 2 to 5 years old.

This story will be updated.

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