Cause of major outbreak discovered after factory worker accidentally poisoned 46 staff with packed lunch
An outbreak of food poisoning that sickened nearly 50 people was caused by a bacteria in a homemade noodle dish, officials revealed.
On October 21, 46 employees at the NAFCO Wholesale Fish Distribution Facility in Maryland became ill about three hours after eating lunch.
When first responders arrived, they found workers sitting at picnic tables outside the factory, some hunched over with their heads down.
At least 26 workers were taken to a local hospital with food poisoning symptoms, although all made a full recovery.
This week, the Maryland Department of Health announced that employees had become ill due to the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a usually harmless bacteria that lives on the skin.
Although it does not normally cause illness, it can spread to food through unwashed hands.
If that food is not thoroughly cooked or left out for too long, it can cause bacteria to multiply and produce toxins responsible for food poisoning and serious infections such as toxic shock syndrome.
The experts said the illnesses were caused by a traditional Filipino noodle dish called pancit, which an employee brought to his colleagues to eat. It consists of rice noodles, mixed vegetables, chicken or pork, broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar.
Dozens of workers at NAFCO’s Maryland seafood plant have been hospitalized after a packed lunch led to an outbreak of food poisoning
Officials confirmed that the illnesses were caused by a traditional Filipino noodle dish called pancit, consisting of rice noodles, mixed vegetables, chicken or pork, broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar.
NAFCO told The Baltimore flag this was an isolated incident and the meal was prepared at the employee’s home and not supplied by the company. It was also served outside and not in the factory.
NAFCO, one of the largest seafood distributors in the Mid-Atlantic region, said no consumers or markets were affected by the incident.
A company representative said: ‘NAFCO maintains the highest standards of food safety and regularly undergoes strict inspections by health authorities.
“The products continue to be produced and consumed safely by customers across the country, and there are no supply chain issues.”
They added: ‘It’s a shame because we are in the food business but this happened in our car park.
“If there’s a positive, we have a huge food safety staff here and all these contingencies.”
About one in three Americans carries S. aureus on the skin or in the nose. Although generally harmless, the bacteria can produce enterotoxins, harmful proteins that target the intestines.
In addition to infections such as toxic shock syndrome, these enterotoxins can lead to rapid-onset symptoms of food poisoning, such as severe vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
Approximately 120,000 Americans become ill from S. aureus each year and 20,000 die.
It is unclear exactly what caused the illnesses caused by the pancit, although it is possible that the worker who made it did not wash his hands properly, did not properly cook the meat in the shell, or left it at an unsafe temperature kept.
It is also unclear whether the dish is made with chicken or pork. Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and pork should be cooked to 145 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the cut.
Many commenters on social media emphasized that this is why they do not share food in the workplace and participate in potlucks.
One Facebook user wrote, “And this is why I don’t do a potluck anymore; I haven’t for years.
“You can’t trust the cleanliness, or lack thereof, of others, especially after the slights that came out about people during Covid. Animals on the counter… People who don’t wash for days/weeks…’
Another commenter mused: ‘This [kind of thing] is actually rare. Let’s be honest.
‘That doesn’t mean you should let your guard down, but if you have doubts about a dish or its origins, trust your gut. (Pun intended).”
