Fifteen postal workers in Charlotte, NC were taken to taken to the hospital this morning with food poisoning symptoms after eating leftovers yesterday from a Veterans Day potluck, according to local reports. The employees who received care at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center had eaten leftovers from a Veteran’s Dat potluck.
About 200 employees held a potluck dinner Tuesday night to honor co-workers who are veterans. Those who became ill, ate the refrigerated leftovers.
The bacterial source of the illness has not been identified. None of the illnesses are said to be life-threatening. Delivery and retail operations at the West Point Drive postal facility are expected to continue normally.
Potlucks are a frequent source of food poisoning because there are so many potential sources of contamination: the food itself, the people who prepare the food, large numbers of people handling the same utensils, food left out too long, food not properly cooled before being refrigerated.
Recently, 38 members of a high school football team in Durand, Wisconsin were sickened after attending a potluck when they were unknowingly served raw milk that was contaminated with Campylobacter. The milk was provided by a parent. And, in Minnesota, dozens of people were sickened by foods containing celery contaminated with E.coli.
