Mass Illness at Airbus Atlantic: Mystery Surrounds Christmas Dinner Sickness
PARIS: More than 700 employees of Airbus Atlantic in France reportedly experienced illness after the company’s Christmas dinner, and health authorities are still investigating the cause of the mass food poisoning, according to reports on Sunday.
The affected individuals, who attended the dinner on December 14, included staff from the aviation manufacturer’s facility in western France. Symptoms reported included vomiting and diarrhea, as stated by the Agence Regionale de Sante (ARS), as reported by the BBC.
While the ARS did not provide specific details about the food responsible for the illnesses, it mentioned on Friday that diners exhibited “clinical signs of vomiting or diarrhea.”
The festive event took place at a restaurant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, and employees fell ill approximately 24 to 48 hours after the dinner. One affected employee described the illness as extremely painful, saying, “I had colic and headaches like I’d never had before. It was worse than giving birth.”
Media reports indicated that the dinner menu included lobster, scallops, gone gars, and tournedos, with desserts such as hazelnut chocolate mousse and ice-cream logs.
Contrary to the reported number of affected individuals, Airbus informed the BBC that only “around 100” people were impacted. In a statement, the company expressed cooperation with the ARS “to identify the cause of the illness and ensure this cannot happen again in the future.”
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