Ted's Montana Customer, Workers Ingest Metal Cleaner

A customer and three workers at a metro Atlanta Ted's Montana Grill were taken to a hospital Friday after they somehow ingested metal cleaner instead of salt.

Cobb County police said their preliminary investigation revealed that the mix-up was an accident.

The restaurant is located at 640 Johnson Ferry Road in Marietta.

Investigators said it appears that overnight workers cleaning a deep-fry area of the kitchen used a chemical that looks like kosher salt. Then Friday morning, when it came time to salt the French fries, a worker used the material left on the table.

Police said one of the customers complained that his french fries tasted bad, and were especially spicy. Several workers then taste-tested the food. All complained that their mouth started to burn, investigators said. Poison control experts advised the restaurant that if any of the product got into the throat, serious complications could arise.

Those injured were taken to Kennestone Hospital as a precaution. The injuries were not believed to be serious.