Seniors in Saskatchewan care home served beef roast seasoned with hand cleaner

CARROT RIVER, Sask. — The Saskatchewan Health Authority is apologizing to residents of a long-term care home who were knowingly served a beef roast that had been seasoned with hand cleaner.

Some 35 seniors live at the Carrot River Health Centre, about 285 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

The health authority says in a statement that an employee put powdered hand cleaner into a spice container, but didn’t change the label before leaving the jar by the kitchen sink.

It says another employee, not knowing what was really in the jar, used its contents to season a roast.

Once it was discovered what had happened, the outer portion of the roast was removed and the rest of the meat was served.

The health authority says the manufacturer’s information indicates the hand cleaner is not dangerous when ingested and no residents appeared to have become ill.

“Once it was discovered that the food had been tainted, none of the roast should have been served to the residents or staff members,” the health authority said in its statement.

“The health and safety of our residents is our first priority. We are taking steps to make sure this does not happen again.”

The health authority says it is reviewing its policies to ensure all staff understand the importance of accurate labels on all items.