An employee’s noodle dish for a company potluck picnic left 46 people sick to their stomachs at once.
Dozens of co-workers lay on grass or sat on benches, ill, outside of the NAFCO Wholesale Fish Distribution Facility in Jessup, Maryland, helicopter footage from WBAL-TV showed.
The employees at the seafood distribution plant appeared to come down with food poisoning about an hour after eating the Filipino pancit stir-fried rice noodles dish on October 21.
All the affected adults ‘allegedly ate the same food’ and were evaluated and transported to different hospitals in non-critical condition, said Howard County Fire & Rescue.
At the time, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said it would take some time to determine the cause of the illness outbreak.
‘If we can get samples of the food itself and test it in our laboratory, and then we will also look at specimens from individuals who have sought medical care to identify the causal agent or agents,’ explained Dr Clifford Mitchell.
‘It’s not just pathogens that are always involved. Sometimes it’s a combination of a bacteria or a virus combined with some viruses in pathogens also produce chemicals, toxins, that will cause a faster reaction.’
On Tuesday, the health department found that Staph, or Staphylococcus aureus, from the dish prepared outside of the facility was to blame.
‘Staph food poisoning is caused by toxins made by the bacteria,’ stated the health department.
Food can become contaminated with Staph if it is not cooked after being handled, or cooked and kept in a temperature between 40°F and 140°F.
The food distribution plant stressed that workers got sick in the parking lot and that the dish was not made within the facility.
‘NAFCO maintains the highest standards of food safety and regularly undergoes rigorous inspections by health authorities,’ stated the company.
‘Its products continue to be safely produced and consumed by customers nationwide, and there are no issues related to its supply chain.’
Staph symptoms include rapid nausea, violent vomiting, diarrhea and cramps.
All the affected workers have recovered.
Jessup is about 30 miles northeast of Washington, DC.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
