'Mulled wine' was dishwashing liquid

A cafe botch-up that put two women in hospital was the result of staff serving dishwashing liquid instead of mulled wine, the Queenstown District Court heard yesterday.

Chico's Restaurant Ltd admitted selling food containing an extraneous matter, namely sodium hydroxide, which was injurious to health, before Judge Alistair Garland yesterday.

Crown prosecutor Sarah McKenzie, acting on behalf of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority, said two women had been taken to hospital after the July 9 incident last year.

Customer Sarah Ferguson had bought a glass of mulled wine from Old Man Rock Cafe and, noticing an immediate burning sensation around the lips and mouth, spat out the liquid.

A worker at the cafe, Bethany Sim, offered to test the mulled wine and immediately suffered a similar but more extreme reaction to Ferguson.

With both women in pain, an ambulance was called.

"A check by cafe management indicated that a mulled wine container had unfortunately been filled with dishwashing detergent," McKenzie said.

The court heard Ferguson was admitted to hospital overnight while Sim stayed for two or three days.

Her prognosis includes some possible future "oesophageal fibrosis and scarring" which may cause obstructive problems, McKenzie said.

An investigation three days after the incident showed the two liquids were mixed up after 20 litres of dishwashing liquid was delivered in a container formerly used to hold "Mountain Thunder" mulled wine.

McKenzie said the detergent sticker was placed over the old mulled wine label, but some of the previous label was still visible.

- © Fairfax NZ News