Five people were burned on and around their mouths after margaritas at a Chili’s restaurant in Forest City, North Carolina, were rimmed with a granulated substance mistaken for sugar. Three customers and two employees were affected, according to a health official cited by The New York Times.
The substance was a degreaser, a cleaning chemical, rather than the sugar that is typically used to coat the rims of margarita glasses. The mix-up led to chemical burns among people who drank the cocktails, and the incident has drawn attention to how a product meant for cleaning ended up in a drink served to paying guests.
The Times reported that the injuries were confined to the area around the mouth, which is where the rimmed glass makes direct contact with the lips. Because the burns were on and around the mouth rather than deeper in the body, the affected people were described as having suffered chemical burns to the skin and mucous membranes of the mouth area, a pattern consistent with the caustic nature of degreasers.
NBC News reported on the same case under the headline that customers in North Carolina suffered burns after sipping margaritas mistakenly made with a cleaning chemical. ABC News also carried video coverage of the incident, reporting that five people at Chili’s in North Carolina suffered burns after a margarita mix-up. Both outlets framed the episode as a case of a cleaning chemical being mistaken for an ingredient in a drink.
The incident underscores the risks of storing cleaning products in areas where food and drink are prepared. Food-safety guidance generally calls for chemicals to be kept physically separate from edible ingredients and clearly labeled, precautions that appear to have failed in this instance. The case also raises questions for restaurant operators about how granulated products that look similar to sugar are stored and identified in busy bar and kitchen areas.
Health officials have been involved in the response to the injuries, and the burned customers and employees were treated for injuries to their mouths. The reporting available at the time of publication did not include details on how the degreaser came to be used in place of sugar, whether any charges or regulatory actions have followed, or what steps the restaurant has taken since the incident. Those questions remain open as the investigation continues.