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“She gave me mine and my daughters then said, “here is your vegan dilly bar” and handed it to us,” Julia Gartland wrote. “My son heard her say it, so we didn’t think twice. Until he started to react five minutes later.”
May 28, 2026 • Last updated 11 hours ago •

Liam Gartland, 8, passed away suddenly after eating a frozen treat from a Kingston eatery during the last day of the Victoria Day long weekend. May 28, 2026. Supplied photo
An eight-year-old boy has died after suffering a severe allergic reaction when he was allegedly mistakenly given the wrong frozen treat from Dairy Queen in Kingston, which has left a family devastated and has also renewed concerns about food allergy safety.
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The tragedy happened on the last day of the Victoria Day long weekend. According to Liam’s mom, Julia, she took him and his little sister to Dairy Queen for a treat.</
She said she ordered a vegan Dilly Bar for her son because he had serious allergies to dairy, eggs, and peanut butter. He also struggled with asthma.</
The vegan ice cream bar sold at Dairy Queen is plant-based according to its site and doesn’t have any dairy or gluten. This is something Gartland had bought for her son many times before without any problems.</
Julia mentioned that while placing their order, an employee repeated “vegan” both when entering it into their system as well as when handing over their treat.
“She gave me mine and my daughter’s then said, “here is your vegan dilly bar” and handed it to us,” Gartland wrote to the Whig-Standard. “My son heard her say it so we didn’t think twice. Until he started reacting five minutes later.”
Gartland looked down at what they received only to see that it contained dairy.
“I drove as fast as I could get him his Epi Pen while calling 911. They arrived quickly but he was already having trouble breathing. By time we reached Kingston Centre he flatlined and they needed another ambulance,” recalled Gartland.
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