Australian Restaurant Fined £21,000 for Accidentally Serving Insect Repellent to Children

An Australian court fined a Perth restaurant £21,000 for serving two child customers with insect repellent instead of cranberry juice.

Perth Magistrates Court has ordered Miky's Italian Fusion restaurant to pay a fine of £21,000 ($28,000) for serving insect repellent to Hannah Lemin, 12, and Olivia Lemin, 11, in June 2024. The court also found the restaurant's former owner, Michele Angiuli, guilty of selling unsafe food.

Victims Sampled Poisoned 'Cranberry Juice'

On the day of the incident, Hannah and Olivia were served a pink-colored liquid they mistook for cranberry juice, according to Australia Broadcasting Corporation. The sister spat the liquid after a sip and complained that the drink was 'poisoned.'

The sisters sampled the drink in front of their parents, Marcus and Michele. 'My daughters just went to gulp it down, and they both spat the cranberry juice out and said, "It's poisoned,"' Michele told the outlet a day after the incident. 'I said, "Don't be silly," and took the glass, and I went to gulp it down and then spat it out.'

Marcus Lemin said he confronted staff after smelling the liquid, demanding to see the bottle. He said an employee initially declined, assuring the drink was 'just old cranberry juice.'

'He took the bottle [out of the fridge] and placed it under the counter,' he recalled. 'That's when I sort of said, "No, you need to give me the bottle, I need to see what it is."' It was later confirmed that the bartender had served the girls citronella torch and lamp oil solution.

Health Scare and Hospital Visit

'My daughters' ... stomachs were burning, their fingers and hands were tingling,' Michele Lemin said. 'They had a headache ... it was awful.'

Hannah and Olivia were immediately rushed to the hospital, where they were treated and discharged a few hours later. Neither suffered permanent physical damage.

'We're lucky that the children weren't younger,' Michele Lemin added. 'If they were younger children that this happened to, I'd hate to think what would have happened.'

Restaurant Grossly Failed with Due Diligence

On 3 March, the Perth Magistrates Court said Angiuli failed to exercise due diligence, resulting in the accident. The restaurant also violated multiple compliance standards, including a lack of food security certified staff and food safety supervisors.

Angiuli's lawyer pinned the 'gross negligence' on the restaurant bartender, who were employed two weeks before the incident. Magistrate Donna Webb rejected the argument, asserting that Angiuli had disposed both the cranberry juice and citronella bottles after the incident.

Webb also fined Angiuli £14,990 ($20,000) personally, plus costs. According to the defence, Miky's Italian Fusion was the first restaurant Angiuli had ever owned.

Marcus Lemin addressed the court after the ruling, hoping the ruling would shake the hospitality industry. "I think the issue for me is more that it drives a bit more rigour in the industry and that we get to a point where maybe business owners in the hospitality industry understand the accountabilities they hold," he said.

Angiuli is no longer working in hospitality, his lawyer told ABC.