Family sues Oregon school district after oven cleaner was served on middle school pretzels

The family of an Oregon sixth-grader has sued the Tigard-Tualatin School District for up to $950,220.85 after pretzels dusted with crushed oven cleaner were served at Fowler Middle School, according to a KPTV report distributed by Gray News and carried by WCAX, WIS, WBTV and Valley News Live.

The suit, filed Sept. 9, concerns a lunch on Oct. 20, 2025, when about 37 pretzels topped with crushed Alto-Sham concentrated oven cleaner, a caustic product containing sodium hydroxide, were handed out to sixth-graders. District records show more than 50 students ate some or all of a tainted pretzel, KPTV reported.

The district has called the incident human error, saying a kitchen employee confused the cleaner with salt. Tigard police reviewed the matter and filed no criminal charges.

The complaint names the district, the lead kitchen worker who applied the substance and Principal Cindy Pellicci. It raises seven claims, among them negligence, strict liability, unlawful confinement and civil rights violations.

According to the lawsuit, the student felt immediate burning in his mouth and throat after eating a pretzel and later had chest pain, an upset stomach and ongoing anxiety about eating at school. The filing alleges he was held in a room for about an hour, monitored without his parents being notified and refused permission to call home, then returned to class after staff deemed him symptom-free. His mother says he arrived home with a sore throat and stomach pain.

The suit also alleges delays in the school's response: Poison Control was reportedly called at 11:03 a.m., roughly 27 minutes after staff recognized the problem, and families did not receive an email until nearly two hours after lunch. It further accuses the district of failing to keep caustic chemicals separate from food and failing to train staff.

Much of the complaint relies on substitute kitchen worker Chloe Larson. The suit says she tasted the seasoning, felt a burn, found the discarded packet and pressed the kitchen lead to turn it over, revealing the words "oven cleaner." The lead initially told administrators the substance was soap, according to the complaint.

KPTV previously reported that the district's outside attorney never interviewed Larson and that police spoke with her only after she reached out. Police closed their case the same day after a phone conversation with the kitchen lead, citing a lack of photos or video and no probable cause. Police said the lead told them the salt had become caked, though KPTV reported that explanation does not appear in police reports or in the recorded interview it obtained. The lawsuit says the lead offered differing accounts.

Attorney Barrett Mersereau has appeared for the defendants but had not filed a substantive response as of Oct. 23, KPTV reported. The district declined to discuss the litigation but confirmed the kitchen lead remains employed there.

Compiled by True News from reporting by WCAX, WIS, Valley News Live and WBTV. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/437