46 people were taken to the hospital for food poisoning in Maryland after an employee brought and shared a homemade meal at work, according to NAFCO Wholesale Seafood Distributors, where the incident took place.
Firefighters and paramedics from the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services responded to the scene on Monday in Jessup, about 15 miles southwest of Baltimore, after employees who ate the meal began showing symptoms of food poisoning, according to a news release from Howard County Fire and Rescue Services.
Victims were evaluated and taken to multiple area hospitals in different counties but were non-critical after they ate the same meal, according to the department.
The food poisoning stemmed from an employee distributing home-cooked meals to their coworkers during their shift, according to a press release the distributor emailed USA TODAY.
The distribution was "unsanctioned," according to the company.
"The investigation has preliminarily determined that an employee prepared food at his home over the weekend, ultimately serving the homemade food to fellow employees who became sick [Monday,]" it stated.
The majority of the employees who were affected were treated and released from the hospital.
Food poisoning: Officials investigate suspected food poisoning incident in Maryland; 46 hospitalized
No other consumers or outlets were affected by the incident, according to the company.
"NAFCO maintains the highest standards of food safety and regularly undergoes rigorous inspections by health authorities," it stated. "Its products continue to be safely produced and consumed by customers nationwide, and there are no issues related to its supply chain."
The Howard County Health Department also confirmed that their investigation indicated that the cause of the food poisoning came from outside of the distributor.
"Preliminary indications are that the illness is related to outside food prepared by an employee and shared with others at the facility.," it stated in a post on X. "At this time we are not aware of any risk of further illnesses connected to this incident."
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]