An Oregon family has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the Tigard-Tualatin School District after their son was poisoned by oven-cleaner-laced pretzels served during a middle-school lunch break.
The complaint, filed over the October 2025 incident at Fowler Middle School in Tigard, names the district, lead kitchen worker and Principal Cindy Pellicci as defendants. According to the filing, 37 pretzels coated with crushed Alto-Sham oven cleaner were distributed to dozens of sixth-graders that day.
The dangerous seasoning was only discovered when substitute kitchen worker Chloe Larson tasted it, felt a burning sensation, and tracked down the discarded packet. She then pressed the lead kitchen worker to reveal the substance was labeled oven cleaner, the lawsuit stated.
The student identified as L.L. Immediately felt burning in his mouth and throat after eating one of the contaminated pretzels. Rather than contacting his parents, staff allegedly kept him in a room for roughly an hour, then sent him back to class after claiming he showed no symptoms.
L.L.’s mother said her son came home with a sore throat and stomach pain from ingesting the oven-cleaner-laced snack. He has also suffered lingering anxiety about eating food at school, she added.
Staff contacted Poison Control approximately 27 minutes after realizing what had happened, according to the complaint. Parents received an email about the incident two hours later.
The school district determined the pretzels were seasoned with oven cleaner because of “human error.” Police closed their investigation when they could not establish probable cause.
The lead kitchen worker initially described the seasoning material to administrators as “soap,” the filing noted. She offered multiple explanations for how the toxic mix-up occurred, including that she had been in a rush and had previously crushed the cleaner to use on a steamer but left it out.
The lawsuit claims the school district failed to properly store caustic chemicals away from food, failed to train staff adequately, and allowed the crushed cleaner to remain on a prep counter where it could be mistaken for seasoning.
The Tigard-Tualatin School District told KPTV it cannot comment on pending litigation but confirmed the kitchen lead worker remains employed by the district.
More than 50 students in total were served the contaminated pretzels, according to the lawsuit.
The oven cleaner contains highly corrosive sodium hydroxide, a caustic chemical that can cause severe burns to the mouth, throat and digestive tract.
The school district did not respond to requests for comment from additional outlets.