Latest updated July 7, 2024 by

Restaurant Mistakenly Serves Family Insect Killer In Lieu Of Cranberry Juice: “…Stomachs Were Burning”

Perth, Australia – A recent incident sent a family to the hospital after they were allegedly served insect repellent instead of cranberry juice at Miky’s Italian Restaurant in the Perth suburb of Nedlands on Friday. Mother, Michele Lemin, claims her…

When you buy something through one of the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Perth, Australia – A recent incident sent a family to the hospital after they were allegedly served insect repellent instead of cranberry juice at Miky’s Italian Restaurant in the Perth suburb of Nedlands on Friday.

Mother, Michele Lemin, claims her daughters, Hannah (11) and Olivia (12), took a sip of the drink and immediately spit it out due to its foul taste.

Lemin’s recounted: “I said don’t be silly and took the glass and I went to gulp it down and then spat it out. I was spitting it out yelling, ‘It’s chemicals.”

After her husband, Marcus Lemin smelled the glass, he asked the staff to bring him the bottle they had used to fill their drinks, but were denied access. The staff insisted: “It’s only old cranberry juice”.

The waiter assured them that everything was OK, to which Lemin’s husband replied that “it wasn’t”, and after a period of time, one of the waiters brought over a bottle of insectide with citronella retrieved from the refrigerator once they had apparently realized the mistake.

The label on the pink-colored torch oil said, “plus Bifenthrin” and included a warning.

According to the family’s account, the girls described the liquid as “disgusting” and burning their stomachs. They quickly became ill, experiencing symptoms like nausea and burning sensations.

The family sought medical attention after consulting poison control, and both daughters received treatment at Perth Children’s Hospital, being released after six hours. Michelle was also taken to a separate hospital for observation.

Ms. Lemin’s said her daughters were fearful that they were going to die.

“My daughters’ stomachs were burning, their fingers and hands were tingling. They had a headache … it was awful. I really did not feel well, my stomach was burning and I had a headache.”

11-year-old, Olivia said: “It felt like somebody had poured fire on your stomach and it felt like you had pins and needles in your arms and legs.”

The cause of the mix-up remains under investigation. The Lemin’s allege that a staff member mistakenly retrieved a bottle of citronella torch fuel, a red liquid used to repel mosquitos, instead of cranberry juice.

Ms. Lemin said in an interview: “We’re lucky that the children weren’t younger. If they were younger children that this happened to, I’d hate to think what would have happened.”

The restaurant has not commented publicly on the incident but an investigation is underway by the Health department and local authorities.

Latest Stories