Chicken noodles at the centre of food poisoning probe

Dozens of employees of a gaming company who fell ill after eating on Thursday are believed to have consumed chicken noodles prepared in a casino restaurant kitchen by caterers Synergy 6 Malta Ltd.

The dish is understood to be a focus of an investigation by the authorities, who shut down the caterer's kitchen after the mass food poisoning.

The employees work for a company based close to the Portomaso Casino Restaurant casino, and not the casino itself.

Times of Malta is informed that officials from the Food Safety and Security Authority swooped on the premises less than two hours after the suspected mass food poisoning was reported at around 7pm to carry out an inspection of the kitchen, which remains closed.

A spokesperson for the casino said the area of the kitchen used to prepare staff food is separate to that used to prepare food for customers, and that no casino patrons had been affected by the incident.

Synergy 6 Malta Ltd is directed by Italian national Chiara Taraborrelli, the partner of local Italian restaurateur Ettore Bitritto, also known as Hector Bi, who describes himself on his Instagram profile as the casino’s executive director of food and beverage services since last year.

Bitritto told Times of Malta on Thursday that he is a consultant to the catering company linked to the incident, without naming Synergy 6 Malta Ltd directly.

He is also the entrepreneur behind the Era Ora Steakhouse restaurant in Balluta Bay, but Bitritto stressed the food outlet was not involved in Thursday’s incident.

Synergy 6 Malta Ltd told Times of Malta it was “aware of the matter and is treating it with the utmost seriousness”, and that the company was “cooperating fully with the competent authorities and has complied, and will continue to comply, with all directions issued”.

“At this stage, the cause of the reported illness has not been established, and investigations remain ongoing in relation to the full circumstances surrounding the preparation, handling, delivery and service of the food, including any third-party involvement,” the company said.

“It is therefore inappropriate to speculate or to attribute responsibility before these investigations are concluded.”

Repeated attempts to contact an associate of Bitritto, linked to the restaurateur through Instagram posts, who is understood to have identified himself to food safety officials as being responsible for the kitchen at the time of the incident, were unsuccessful.

A spokesperson for the casino said Thursday’s incident was “currently under review by the competent authorities,” with whom it was “fully cooperating”, and that precautionary measures had been taken while investigations continued.

“At this stage, the cause of the reported symptoms has not been officially determined. It would therefore be inappropriate for the company or any other party to speculate on the source, cause, or responsibility until the relevant investigations are complete.”

Stressing that the area used to prepare staff meals is separate to areas used to prepare customer food, he emphasised that “in no way, shape and form there is, or was, an issue with the catering supplied to our customers” and that the casino was not aware of any patrons being affected.

The casino could “only comment on matters within its direct knowledge and relating to its own operations”, the spokesperson said, adding it was “not authorised and will not speak on behalf of any supplier, contractor, operator, employee, director, officer, consultant or any other party”.

Photos from the scene on Thursday night showed ambulances attending the complex as employees of the company based nearby at the Portomaso Marina lined up to receive medical assistance.

Times of Malta was informed that night that as many as 47 people had initially sought medical assistance.

In a statement on Friday, the Superintendence of Public Health and the Food Safety and Security Authority said 19 people were “assessed” at Mater Dei Hospital’s emergency department, with two admitted for further treatment.

The authorities confirmed that the hospitalisations took place following an outbreak of “foodborne illness” among a group of employees who had all eaten lunch together at their workplace.

Public Health authorities said they “immediately” launched an epidemiological investigation to identify the source and extent of the outbreak, and that the FSSA had begun an “urgent investigation” into the food items served.

The affected company said on Friday it had suspended meal deliveries from the supplier, without naming the company.