A father and son suffered tongue tingling and throat burning after they drank some hot chocolate in a McDonald's store in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality yesterday.

The 46-year-old father, who drank more than his four-year-old son Niuniu, was diagnosed with damage to multiple organs.

It turned out that the McDonald's working staff mistook diluted disinfectant for hot water and used it to make the drink, according to a report by the Chongqing Evening News.

The father, surnamed Feng, bought a "Happy Meal" for his son Niuniu at noon. After a sip of hot chocolate, Niuniu stuck his tongue out and shook his head. "I thought the drink was very hot so I asked him to wait a while," recalled Feng.

When Niuniu was about to finish off his lunch, Feng realized the drink was almost untouched. So he gulped a third of it. Ten seconds later, his tongue tingled and his throat burnt.

He turned to the working staff for help and was told that the drink might actually be diluted disinfectant.

The father and son were rushed to hospital.

Slight damage was found in Feng's liver, gallbladder, spleen, and stomach. The child was generally all right but was advised to stay for observation.

McDonald's confessed that it was responsible for the incident.

According to the personnel accompanying Feng to the hospital, the kitchen was under disinfection when Feng ordered their meal. One of his colleagues poured diluted disinfectant into a kettle that usually contains hot water and left it there for sterilization. Another colleague didn't notice and made Feng's hot chocolate with the liquid.

The paper called local food safety authorities about the incident at about 4:50 p.m. Two law enforcement officials went to the store a half hour later.

Complaining that the store didn't actively report the incident, they summoned its manager and other personnel involved for further investigation.

China's food safety law stipulates that any incident concerning food safety shall be reported to local authorities within two hours. Establishments that destroy evidence shall stop operation and be fined 2,000–100,000 yuan (US$306-15,340); business licenses can be revoked if grave consequences result.

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