KATY, Texas – Rainforest Café's slogan is “a wild place to shop and eat” -- but one Katy family said they were shocked to find a button battery in their meal during a recent visit.
Marga Matthews said her son and his three daughters went to the restaurant at Katy Mills on Saturday.
“Isabella that’s 3 years old was eating the hamburger and then she spits something out and it was a battery,” Matthews said. “And so, my son goes, ‘What is that?’ So, he looked at it. He looked more closely, and he freaked out and he opens the hamburger and there’s another battery.”
Matthews said her son alerted the manager. The family claims a waitress took their meal and trashed it after the manager saw it.
“He didn’t even have any compassion or nothing,” Matthews said of the manager’s reaction. “My son was very upset.”
Matthews shared pictures with KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun of what appears to be a button cell battery.
They’re typically the size of a nickel, “20 mm, 3-volt lithium coin cells are the most hazardous as they are big enough to get stuck and burn faster,” according to the National Capital Poison Center.
This type of battery is used in several household items such as:
- Remote controls
- Garage door openers
- Keyless entry fobs
- Bathroom scales
- Toys
- Cameras
- Watches
- Digital thermometers
- Hearing aids
- Singing greeting cards
- Talking books
- Portable stereos
- Handheld video games
- Cell phones
- Home medical equipment/meters
- Flash and penlights
- Flashing shoes
- Toothbrushes, bedwetting monitors
- Keychains
- Flashing or lighted jewelry or attire
Matthew’s son then called the Katy Police Department, who apparently investigated the ordeal. KPRC 2 reached out to Katy police, but our calls were not returned.
“At urgent care, they said [she] had a three-hour leeway before the acid goes into her system,” Matthews said. “And so, they rushed her to [Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital.] They tried manually see if she could poop it out, but she couldn’t, so they had to have emergency surgery.”
Public relations firm Landry’s represents Rainforest Café. The chief operating officer said they are looking into it.
“We are as concerned as everyone is on this report. We have launched a full-scale investigation into this matter to find out what really happened and have no updates to share at this time,” said Keith Beitler, COO of Landry’s.
Pediatric Surgeon Haroon Patel at the Women’s Hospital of Texas in a recent Instagram post shared with KPRC 2, said swallowing button batteries is “common” and “a serious problem.”
Patel suggests giving children older than one two tablespoons of honey.
“It neutralizes the lithium component of the alkaline component of the button battery, and it protects the esophagus,” Patel said. “Take them to the emergency room and have them seen because this is potentially life-threatening.”
The National Capital Poison Center reaffirms Patel, adding “Other than honey, don’t eat or drink until an x-ray shows the battery is beyond the esophagus. Batteries stuck in the esophagus must be removed as quickly as possible as severe damage can occur in just two hours. Batteries in the nose or ear also must be removed immediately to avoid permanent damage.”
Matthews shares her granddaughter is at home resting.
“This is very upsetting and whoever did this needs to go to jail. Not a slap on the hand. They need to go to jail because they could have killed my granddaughter,” Matthews said.