Over a hundred employees at ByteDance’s Singapore headquarters experienced a mass food poisoning incident on Tuesday.
In a joint announcement on Wednesday, the Singapore Food Agency and Ministry of Health reported that 17 individuals were hospitalized with severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Many others either sought outpatient care, recovered without medical treatment, or self-medicated.
According to CNBC, the employees consumed food from ByteDance’s office at One Raffles Quay, Singapore. The two catering services involved—Yun Hai Yao and Pu Tien Services—have had their operations suspended following the incident, which left the office reeking of vomit.
The Singapore Civil Defense Force began receiving complaints from One Raffles Quay around 3 pm on Tuesday (July 30). A ByteDance employee, speaking anonymously, described the situation, saying: “Every single floor had people vomiting, which was quite gross.”
The employee added, “The toilets were all full and there were people lying on the floor. The whole office smelled like vomit,” noting that vomiting and diarrhea were the most common symptoms. They described the office scene as “quite chaotic” with people vomiting on the floor, and mentioned that at least 10 people were seen on the floor in pain while waiting for paramedics.
In total, 130 employees were impacted by the food poisoning outbreak, and 17 ambulances were dispatched to the ByteDance headquarters to assist the affected individuals.
A ByteDance spokesperson informed CNBC that the company is “investigating the matter and working with the relevant authorities on this.” The spokesperson also noted that ByteDance had “taken immediate steps to support all affected employees, including working with emergency services to provide care.”