‘The whole office smelled like vomit’: 100+ fall ill at TikTok parent company ByteDance after mass food-poisoning outbreak
A mass food-poisoning incident has affected more than 100 people at the headquarters of ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, in Singapore—and the country’s food agency has suspended business operations of two caterers that may have been involved.
Shortly after 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the Singapore Civil Defense Force told local media outlets, it received multiple phone calls from One Raffles Quay, where ByteDance is headquartered.
Seventeen ambulances were deployed, along with multiple fire trucks and a mass contamination vehicle. By the end of the day at least 60 people had reported falling ill with symptoms of gastroenteritis, with 57 seeking medical treatment in hospitals.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request to comment, but in an email to CNBC, the company said it was investigating the incident and working with the relevant authorities.
The email added that ByteDance had “taken immediate steps to support all affected employees, including working with emergency services to provide care.”
An employee interviewed by Central News Asia said several colleagues began feeling nauseous after eating lunch at the buffet catered on the 26th floor of ByteDance’s HQ.
“The toilets were all full and there were people lying on the floor. The whole office smelled like vomit,” they said.
By Wednesday, the number of reported cases of illness jumped to 130, and the Singapore Food Agency released a joint statement with the Ministry of Health saying it had indefinitely suspended the food services of two vendors: Yun Hai Yao and Pu Tien Services. Both businesses cater buffet food on the 26th floor, according to employees who spoke with CNA.
Following the government agencies’ joint statement, Pu Tien told CNA its food was not responsible for the illnesses, but Yun Hai Yao told a local Chinese daily paper that it was working with suppliers and government authorities to resolve the issue.
Just last week, more than 160 employees of the civil defense force academy fell ill from food poisoning at its campus on the outskirts of the city.
TikTok has come under fire from U.S. regulators over concerns the Chinese government may be able to access its user data. The app is not available in China, and the platform splits its headquarters between Los Angeles and Singapore, according to its website; however, ByteDance’s main HQ is in Beijing.
In April, lawmakers in the U.S. passed a bill that would ban the app if ByteDance doesn’t sell it within six months. TikTok has challenged the law.
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