As many as 130 employees have fallen sick in a possible case of mass food poisoning at the Singapore headquarters of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
The incident has prompted an investigation by local authorities and an internal inquiry by Bytedance, according to reports.
According to a report by ABC, Singapore’s Ministry of Health and Food Agency said in a joint statement on July 31 that of the 130 people, who had fallen sick, 17 remained in hospital with gastroenteritis in a stable condition.
After the incident came to light, services by two caterers at the Bytedance office, who are believed to be behind the food poisoning, have been halted by the health authorities.
Local news source CNA reported that the two caterers, Pu Tien Services and Yun Hai Yao, have been directed by the health officials to halt their food businesses.
According to officials, the meal eaten by ByteDance staff members was provided by these two caterers.
Pu Tien informed CNA that their food was not the cause of the incident after the government agencies released a joint statement.
Yun Hai Yao told the Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao that they were waiting for the results of the probe because those impacted did not just consume meals prepared by them.
As per reports, 17 ambulances were sent by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to the ByteDance office.
Employees at ByteDance reported witnessing co-workers wince in agony and vomit on the floor. A staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, told CNA that the “whole office smelled like vomit”.
About an hour after lunch, according to another ByteDance employee who spoke with CNA, things got “quite chaotic” with individuals beginning to feel nauseous.
The employee claimed that people were lying on the floor and that all of the restrooms were filled, leaving the company’s cleaners to frantically clean up the mess.
A ByteDance representative told the BBC that the company takes employee health and safety seriously and that they had acted promptly to help any impacted workers, including coordinating treatment with emergency services.
“We are investigating the matter and are working with the relevant authorities on this,” the spokesperson added.
Chan Fong Ying, a senior food safety specialist, reportedly told CNA that exposure to a “highly potent toxin or pathogen” is suggested by the acute symptoms seen in the ByteDance food poisoning case, where victims had instant vomiting.
According to Chan, as the food provided by the catering agencies is frequently made off-site and then served at a separate location, it might pose “unique food safety challenges”.
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