299 workers hospitalized after falling ill

Employees of a Japanese electronics manufacturer in Jiading district get treated at Ruijin Hospital North Wednesday. A total of 299 company employees were sent to the hospital with symptoms including palpitations and fever. Authorities were investigating Wednesday whether they were victims of food poisoning. Photo: Cai Xianmin/GT

A total of 299 workers from a Japanese electronics manufacturer in Jiading district fell ill early Wednesday in a suspected food poisoning case.

The workers, employed by SIIX EMS (Shanghai) Co, were sent to four hospitals in the district with symptoms including palpitations, fever and chest tightness after they began falling ill around 1 am, according to a press release from the Jiading District People's Government. Nine workers were still being hospitalized Wednesday afternoon.

The district office of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration has collected samples of the food the workers ate Tuesday for testing, according to the press release.

The test results will be released Thursday, said Zhou Xiang, a press officer with the Jiading District People's Government.

"It remains unclear whether food was the cause of this incident," Zhou told the Global Times. "Government agencies are also checking the air and water on the premises to identify other possible causes."

The workers' lunches and night shift snacks were prepared by Shanghai Yadong Restaurant Management Co, SIIX's food contractor.

The contractor provided SIIX with 531 box lunches and 82 packages of snacks Tuesday, said an employee surnamed Lü from Shanghai Yadong Restaurant Management Co. SIIX ordered the cheapest lunches that the caterer offered, which cost 10 yuan ($1.65) a box.

However, Lü insisted there was nothing wrong with the food. "We provided the same food to several other companies and no food poisoning cases occurred," she told the Global Times.

Lü pointed out that the catering company's own employees ate the same food used to prepare SIIX's night shift snacks, and no one got sick.

Ruijin Hospital North, one of the hospitals that treated the workers, said Wednesday that it has not determined what caused the workers to get sick. "Most of the patients are in stable condition, though some still have a high white blood cell count," said Gu Zhenyao, the hospital's press officer.

SIIX could not be reached for comment by Wednesday evening. The company, established in 2011, has 531 employees and primarily produces electronics.