TikTok headquarters staff suffer from mass food poisoning incident
Dozens of staff at the Singapore office of TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, were affected by a mass food poisoning incident that left them hospitalized.
According to a report by Sky News, at least 60 workers from the company suffered from symptoms of gastroenteritis, which is an inflammation from an infection in the stomach and intestines that can cause nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Fifty-seven of them had to be transported to a nearby hospital by seventeen ambulances.
A ByteDance spokesperson told the news outlet that they are now investigating the cause of the food poisoning. The report noted that the company does not prepare its own food and that it uses third-party caterers to supply it.
"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," the spokesperson said.
"We are investigating the matter and are working with the relevant authorities on this," they added.
ByteDance further assured that they have "taken immediate steps to support all affected employees, including working with emergency services to provide care."
Officials from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Ministry of Health meanwhile said that they are also looking into the incident.
"Food operators must play their part by adhering to good food safety practices," they stressed in a joint statement. "SFA will not hesitate to take enforcement action against errant food operators."
ByteDance was founded in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneurs and launched TikTok a year later. As the social media platform is not available in China, a limited liability company based in Singapore and Los Angeles runs the app but is still owned by ByteDance.