60 people fall ill after mass food poisoning incident at ByteDance office; SFA, MOH investigating
SINGAPORE — Authorities are investigating dozens of cases of gastroenteritis reported at TikTok owner ByteDance's Singapore office at One Raffles Quay on Tuesday (July 30).Sixty people developed symptoms of gastroenteritis and 57 of them sought medical treatment at hospitals, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a joint statement on Tuesday night.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received multiple calls for medical assistance at about 3.15pm.
A total of 17 ambulances were deployed.
In a company announcement to employees seen by CNA, ByteDance said it was aware that staff at its One Raffles Quay office had become ill after visiting the canteen on the 26th floor.
A buffet section at the canteen will be closed until investigations are complete, the company said.
"We are taking this incident very seriously and are working closely with local authorities and caterers to identify the cause as soon as possible," it added.
CNA understands that ByteDance engages licensed external vendors to cater food for its offices, and that food is not prepared or cooked at its office premises in Singapore.
'WHOLE OFFICE SMELLED LIKE VOMIT'
A 28-year-old ByteDance employee told CNA on Tuesday evening that the canteen on the 26th floor, which operates from 12pm to 2pm, serves "China-style Chinese food" and is "quite popular among employees"."It’s a new vendor which was only recently engaged, perhaps two months ago," said the employee, who wanted to remain anonymous.
"My colleagues felt nauseous about an hour after lunch (around 3pm). Mostly vomiting and diarrhoea. The toilets were all full and there were people lying on the floor. The whole office smelled like vomit."
The staff member added that the scene was "quite chaotic" as people vomited on the floor and in the pantry, with cleaners "rushing around the office cleaning up the mess".
"Two of my teammates went to the hospital via SCDF, while four went to the clinic. They didn’t want to go to the hospital."
The employee noted that those who visited the general practitioner (GP) clinic obtained three days of sick leave.
SCDF said at about 7.30pm that it had set up a first aid point at One Raffles Quay, calling it an "ongoing" incident.
It added that 30 people who experienced symptoms of abdominal pain and vomiting had been taken to hospitals.
This figure was later revised to 47 in its final update at about 11.20pm.
The employees affected were taken to different hospitals, including Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and Raffles Hospital.
SFA and MOH said they are investigating the gastroenteritis cases.
"Food safety is a joint responsibility. While SFA puts in place and enforces the regulatory measures, food operators must play their part by adhering to good food safety practices," they added.
"SFA will not hesitate to take enforcement action against errant food operators."
In response to queries from CNA, a ByteDance spokesperson said: "We take the health and safety of our employees very seriously and have taken immediate steps to support all affected employees, including working with emergency services to provide care.
"We are investigating the matter and are working with the relevant authorities on this."
This is the second case of mass food poisoning in a week. It was reported on July 26 that more than 160 personnel at the SCDF academy fell ill with gastroenteritis. CNA
