A 2-year-old girl was mistakenly given alcohol instead of apple juice at a Salinas restaurant and ended up in the emergency room.
What was supposed to be apple juice was actually mislabeled cooking wine that had been served to the girl at Fujiyama Japanese restaurant, her parents and restaurant officials told KSBW on Thursday. The parents didn't realize it until the girl began showing signs of intoxication and then smelled her drink.
“He was staggering, he was falling, he was leaning against walls, he couldn't lift his head, he was slurring his words,” his mother, Noemí Valencia, told the television channel.
A visit to the emergency room revealed the little girl's blood alcohol content was 0.12 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent for an adult over 21, her parents said. She has since made a full recovery.
The restaurant told KSBW that a large container of cooking wine was incorrectly labeled as apple juice, which the waiter accidentally poured for the boy.
Local police said a report about the incident was filed on Aug. 17, according to the news station. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said in a statement that it is working with local authorities to investigate the matter.
Parents urged other families to try what is served to children in restaurants as a precaution.
