Man Hospitalized After Drinking Unknown Liquid From McDonald’s Chocolate Milk Container

FARMINGTON, Utah – Officials with the Davis County Health Department and McDonald’s were investigating Monday after an unknown liquid inside a McDonald’s chocolate milk container sent one man to the hospital.

“That’s some funky chocolate milk,” Seadur Kopczuk said.

Kopczuk took his family to a McDonald’s in Farmington last Thursday. They went through the drive-thru and ordered a happy meal and chocolate milk for their 6-year-old son, then headed back toward their home.

“I never give my son his drink while he’s eating because he’ll normally just chug it and then won’t eat his food,” said Becky, Seadur’s wife who was sitting in the passenger seat.

When their son finished his cheeseburger meal, Seadur Kopczuk did what fathers often do and implemented a “dad tax.” In other words, he took a gulp before handing it to his son. And this time, it really paid off.

“All of a sudden he made a really weird face and swallowed it,” Becky Kopczuk said. “He was like, ‘Oh my gosh that chocolate milk is rotten.’”

Instead of milk, this guy says there was a clear, smelly liquid inside. He’s just grateful he took a drink first before handing it to his 6 year old son. #ksltv pic.twitter.com/PVNQjtyfFv

— Matt Rascon KSL (@MattRasconKSL) December 21, 2020

But after looking inside the bottle, they realized it wasn’t chocolate milk. Or, at least, it didn’t look anything like it. Pictures and video from the Kopczuks show what looks like a clear liquid in the bottle.

“It had a very strong smell and it was some kind of clear liquid,” Kopczuk said.

The burning in her husband’s chest started almost immediately, she said. Seadur Kopczuk said it “didn’t really taste like much, other than a lot of burning.”

He felt sick. And not knowing what he had just put inside of him, they decided to drive him to the ER at Lakeview Hospital.

“It was really hard for them to treat him at the hospital, basically because they didn’t know what they were treating him for,” Becky Kopczuk said.

Seadur Kopczuk said hospital staff called poison control and gave him some kind of drink. Three of four hours later, he was released from the hospital, still feeling off and still wondering how their trip to McDonald’s left them with a very unhappy meal.

“It’s not often I take a dad tax on chocolate milk,” he said. “I’m thankful that I did.”

“The safety and security of our crew and guests are our top priorities. We are committed to offering customers the best-quality menu items and experience in our restaurants,” said Bob Roetzel, McDonald’s owner-operator. “As soon as we were notified, we contacted our supplier partner and are working together to investigate this matter.”

The Davis County Health Department said it received a complaint on Friday “and have an investigator going to the restaurant to investigate.”

The Kopczuks said they dropped off the chocolate milk container with its remaining liquid at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. UDAF officials said it doesn’t comment on investigations but that its laboratory “provides chemical, physical and microbiological analyses for a wide variety of products to protect the state’s consumers, farmers and industry.”