Health officials in Princeton, NJ, were investigating food-handling practices at a local hotel restaurant after several people reportedly became ill after a Thanksgiving buffet there. Health Officer Jeffrey Grosser of the Princeton Health Department said while at least 12 people in three separate families reported being sickened after eating at the Nassau Hotel, the exact cause of their illnesses was difficult to ascertain. “I’d hate to pin it on one specific place. We’re still gathering information from individuals so we have a better picture of what happened,” Grosser said. “If there’s something glaring, we want to make sure we stop it before other people are affected.” Several people contacted the health department over this past weekend to report symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, Grosser said. Some reported eating at the Nassau Inn, but others had been to different restaurants. One woman said she had visited the Nassau Inn with family members on Thanksgiving for a buffet including turkey and chicken dishes, a ham-carving station, stuffing, mashed potatoes and salad. She reported that her two daughters and son had fallen “violently ill” the next night and that her husband had woken up sick early Saturday morning with vomiting and diarrhea. “Due to the nature of the symptoms and rapid onset of illness, norovirus is suspected in the majority of reported cases,” Grosser said. People can become infected by eating or drinking contaminated food or liquids, touching contaminated surfaces and then placing their hands in their mouth, or having direct contact with others infected or exhibiting symptoms, he said. The department is currently gathering health information from callers and looking into how Nassau Inn employees store, refrigerate and heat food and their cleaning practices.