Sasol employees eat at cafeteria, end up in hospital

More than a dozen Sasol employees were admitted to hospital for suspected food poisoning on Tuesday, 27 March, Ridge Times reports.

According to several people working at the Sasol plant, investigators clad in plastic gloves and aprons closed off and inspected the cafeteria in the plant near the fire station the next day.

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It appears that the 18 Sasol employees who have been admitted to hospital all ate food at this outlet on the Tuesday. A group of them enjoyed breakfast together that day.

Matebello Motloung, a spokesperson for Sasol, confirmed on Wednesday that 18 employees were admitted to the Sasol medical centre for treatment of suspected food poisoning.

“The employees were then transferred to hospital for further treatment and observation. All employees are in a stable condition and some have already been discharged. An investigation is currently underway to ascertain the cause for their illness,” said Motloung.

“Sasol remains committed to the safety and health of its employees, community and environment.”

Employees who wanted to remain anonymous said on Wednesday it was not the first incident of food poisoning at the cafeterias in Sasol.

“There was a previous incident where medical personnel asked for an investigation,” one of the men said.

Environmental health practitioners from the Gert Sibande District Council were at the cafeteria on Wednesday to investigate and gather samples of the food suspected of being contaminated. These will be tested and analysed to determine the direct cause.

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