700 Airbus employees get sick after gourmet Christmas dinner party in France: ‘Worse than giving birth'
View of arugula citrus salad and fruit salad on buffet table. (Photo by David E. Klutho /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
700 employees with Airbus Atlantic reportedly got sick after the company hosted a Christmas dinner.
Health authorities in France have launched an investigation into the incident after 700 out of the 2,600 people in attendance at the dinner fell sick with "clinical signs of vomiting and/or diarrhea" after the dinner on Dec. 14, with employees getting sick around 24 to 48 hours after the dinner, according to The Guardian.
Airbus Atlantic hosted the party at a restaurant on-site, located in Montoir-de-Bretagne, which is in western France.
Dinner included lobster, scallops, gone gars, and tournedos, which included desserts of hazelnut chocolate mousse and ice-cream logs.
French health officials said they haven't determined a cause for what sparked the illnesses.
One employee who goes by Nolwenn told Ouest-France newspaper that the illness was painful.
"I had colic and headaches like I’d never had before. It was worse than giving birth," Nolwenn said.
A spokesperson for Airbus Atlantic told the outlet that nobody was "seriously ill."
"The case is now being handled by the health authority, which is leading the investigation," the spokesperson said.
Secretary of the Airbus Atlantic works committee, Jean-Claude Iribarren, told the French newspaper that the food was made by the company’s canteen.
"People have been a little hasty about the causes. We are obliged to keep samples of every product served in the restaurant. They will be analysed by the ARS [health authorities]. The investigation will take several more days," Iribarren said.