46 hospitalized with food poisoning after employee pot-luck at Maryland seafood distributor

Pot-not-so-lucky.

Dozens of people were hospitalized this week due to a mass food poisoning event at a Maryland wholesale seafood distributor.

A total of 46 adults were sent to area hospitals after they all fell ill at NAFCO Wholesale Seafood Distributors in Jessup, Md., on Monday, according to reports.

That mass rash of illness was caused by a homemade dish that an employee brought into the workplace for sharing, according to the Howard County Health Department.

That dish was “pancit,” a Filipino stir-fry noodle dish often made with pork, according to the Baltimore Banner.

Employees of the seafood distributor chowed down on the nausea-inducing delicacy in the building’s parking lot, according to a statement from NAFCO. Then, just a few hours later, everyone who ate the food became ill simultaneously.

“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,” NAFCO representatives said in a statement.

The company also stressed that no consumers were exposed to any illness nor were they at risk.

That sentiment was echoed by the local health department, which said it doesn’t believe the food sold at the wholesaler is contaminated by any germs or pathogens that caused the outbreak of illness.

“NAFCO operates under the highest health and safety standards in the industry. Our headquarters and facilities are regularly inspected and monitored by the relevant health authorities to ensure compliance with all health and safety regulations,” NAFCO’s parent company Stanley Pearlman Enterprises said in a statement.

The Howard County Health Department announced in a Facebook post that they are investigating the incident.

“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,” Dr. Clifford Mitchell, from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told WBAL-TV.

It’s not clear whether investigators suspect the poisoning was intentional.

NAFCO is one of the largest wholesale seafood distributors in the region and does not sell its products directly to the public.