Alaska Students Served Floor Sealant Instead of Milk for Breakfast Due to Mix-Up, School District Says
Ben Hohenstatt/The Juneau Empire via AP Glacier Valley Elementary School
An investigation is underway after 12 students were served floor sealant instead of milk for breakfast at a summer program hosted by an Alaskan elementary school, according to officials.
The incident took place at the Sit Eeti Shaanax Glacier Valley Elementary School on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the Juneau School District.
"Shortly after breakfast was served students complained of the milk tasting bad and burning their mouth/throat," officials wrote.
After immediately looking into the matter, staff found that the liquid "was actually a floor sealant resembling liquid milk," officials said.
Afterwards, staff members "immediately directed students to stop consuming the substance and removed it," according to the statement.
The school district said one student received medical treatment and an additional two students may have "gone to seek medical advice" after being picked up.
Although information about the students has not been released, the summer program is available for elementary students between the ages of 5 and 12, according to the school's website.
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Superintendent Bridget Weiss told the Associated Press that while the Juneau Police Department is investigating, officials do not believe there were criminal intentions behind the mix-up.
"But we do want a thorough investigation of what happened, how it happened," Weiss remarked.
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Weiss told the AP that boxes of the sealant, which is similar in appearance to milk, somehow got "stored or moved on the same pallet as large pouches of milk."
"That pallet was delivered, and the assumption was that it was milk because that's what we thought was being delivered," she continued, noting that the investigation will look into why food items and chemicals were stored in the same building.
Weiss told the AP on Wednesday that while a few students were still dealing with upset stomachs on Tuesday evening, the children "are doing fine."
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, NANA Management Services (NMS), an Anchorage-based caterer that provided all of the food items, said they are "supporting the full investigation" and "looking at every contributing factor to determine what happened."
"This process is key to identifying potential safety measures and putting those safety measures to work," they added.
The school superintendent told the AP the summer program was "up and running" again on Wednesday with a state food inspector on site.
