A Toronto father says finding a dishwasher detergent pod mixed in with his eight-year-old daughter’s Halloween candy was a “horrible” experience.
“It made me a little bit uncomfortable knowing that my daughter just went around trick-or-treating, it’s supposed to be a nice safe neighbourhood,” Juan Carlos Oviedo told Global News Wednesday.
“Horrible, why would anybody do anything like this? I know it’s trick-or-treat but they shouldn’t be doing that kind of trick.”
Oviedo said his daughter was out trick-or-treating with her mother and her friend on Prescott, Blackthorn and Rockwell Avenues, near Caledonia Road and St. Clair Avenue West, Monday evening.
“But when we got home and we were going through the candy, we just found the dishwasher detergent,” he said, adding he and his wife always check their daughter’s candy to be safe.
“I’ve been living in this neighbourhood for almost eight years now myself, my wife has been here for 30 years and nothing like this has ever happened.”
READ MORE: Laundry detergent pods poison more than 30 kids daily, report warns
Oviedo said the detergent pod was individually wrapped and “looked like a regular chocolate bar” that a child would think is safe to open and eat. He added that a detergent pod was also found in his daughter’s friend’s candy bag.
He said his wife then immediately called police and notified every parent she knew in the area, in addition to the school their daughter attends.
Toronto police said Wednesday they have launched an investigation, adding the pods are especially dangerous for children if swallowed because even small amounts can cause burns to the mouth, throat and airways.
Anyone with information is being asked to call 12 Division at 416-808-1200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.
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