A severe food poisoning outbreak at a Maryland seafood distribution center sent dozens of workers to local hospitals on Monday afternoon, overwhelming emergency services in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, according to Newsweek.
The incident occurred at the North Atlantic Fish Company (NAFCO) Wholesale Seafood Distributors in Jessup, Maryland, where employees reportedly fell ill after consuming the same meal. Emergency crews responded to the industrial facility around 3:45 p.m. when multiple workers began experiencing symptoms of foodborne illness.
The number of impacted individuals required a coordinated response from three counties. Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services led the emergency effort, with additional support from Anne Arundel and Baltimore County crews. All 46 affected individuals required hospitalization, though all were reportedly in stable condition.
The specific meal that caused the outbreak has not yet been identified, and NAFCO has not released an official statement regarding the incident.
Food Poisoning News has covered multiple incidents of mass food poisoning incidents this year:
- 74 female students struck by food poisoning at South African school camp
- 86 sickened by suspected food poisoning in Malaysia
- Food poisoning incident affects 60 service members in North Macedonia
Food safety experts warn that such incidents could become more frequent due to climate change. Newsweek quoted Professor Jeri Barak from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who recently highlighted how rising temperatures create more favorable conditions for harmful bacteria to multiply. “Climate change will increase the risk of foodborne illness from consumption of raw produce,,” Barak noted in a recent study.
When asked, the leading food poisoning lawyer, Ron Simon, stated: “Food poisoning can be caused by various pathogens, including bacteria like salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, which has featured heavily in recent news because of a large-scale outbreak of illness in connection with tainted Boar’s Head meat products.” Symptoms typically include diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and fever, with severity ranging from mild to potentially life-threatening. While some victims develop symptoms within hours of consuming contaminated food, others may not experience issues for several days. Young children, seniors, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems are especially susceptible.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 48 million people in the U.S. are affected by foodborne illnesses annually.
Commenting on this article, one national food poisoning lawyer said, “Fortunately, there appears to be no severe cases reported yet from this food poisoning incident. I highly encourage any consumer to seek medical care immediately if they begin to experience symptoms associated with foodborne illness.”
