Middle School Students Served Pretzels Sprinkled with Cleaner

Students at an Oregon middle school were accidentally served soft pretzels sprinkled with oven cleaner earlier this week, sparking alarm among parents and staff.

Fowler Middle School in Tigard confirmed that 37 pretzels coated with Alto-Shaam oven cleaner were mistakenly given out during a sixth-grade lunch on Monday, October 20.

In a message to parents, Principal Cindy Pellici said, “We understand that today’s food incident created significant alarm within our school community. The safety and health of our students is our top priority. Protocols were followed immediately to identify the students who ate the pretzels and check for illness or adverse reactions.”

All affected students were contacted by the school, and families were advised to call poison control or a medical provider if any symptoms persisted. The Oregon Poison Center at OHSU confirmed they received about 20 calls related to the incident.

Parent Kianna Bell shared that she received a voicemail from the school notifying her that her child had eaten part of a contaminated pretzel. “During sixth grade lunch, your student reported that they ate at least a part of a pretzel that was sprinkled with oven cleaner,” the message reportedly said.

According to the CDC, consuming sodium hydroxide — a chemical found in some Alto-Shaam products — can cause vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, and serious damage to the mouth and digestive tract.

Fowler parent Kaylee Spiering told FOX 12 that the cleaning tablets were accidentally mistaken for salt. “They crushed up the oven cleaning tablets and put it into a bag. That bag was left on the counter, and someone mistook it for salt to put on the pretzels,” she said, noting her 11-year-old son was affected.

Officials from Fowler Middle School and the Tigard County Police have not yet provided further details on how the mistake occurred.