PETERSBURG, Va. -- On Thursday evening, mom Kiasha Mitchell had to move quickly after her three-year-old son, Terrance Smith Jr. fell to the floor on the first day of school at the Westview Early Childhood Education Center - dropping his box of apple juice.
"I said what in the world?" Mitchell said.
Terrance has epilepsy and will suddenly lose control and fall at times, but this time, the fall caused Mitchell to notice something in her son's juice.
"I opened the container, and I said my son just drank this," Mitchell said.
Inside the juice box, a dark substance coated the bottom.
"This is the container of juice that he had that is filled with mold," Mitchell said while showing the container.
"It's nasty," her son confirmed.
Mitchell immediately alerted school staff, who took action.
"I was very upset, I was devastated, I was livid," Mitchell said.
The school immediately removed all other apple juice cartons from the cafeteria, according to a letter sent to parents.
The letter stated school staff checked several of those cartons and they appeared fine, and they also contacted the Crater Health District.
"For a child to consume of it is horrible," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said Terrance vomited that night, so she took him to the doctor who prescribed anti-nausea medicine and sent a sample from the juice box to the lab.
Although he appears fine now, she said she wanted somebody held accountable.
"The vendor should actually be held responsible," Mitchell said.
To that point, the school system told the CBS 6 Problem Solvers that they followed proper procedures with regards to storing the juice, and that it was not expired, so they believe the problem lies within the manufacturing process.
The CBS 6 Problem Solvers reached out to the manufacturer but have not yet heard back yet.
