More than 250 people fell sick and 150 were hospitalized in India this past week after eating food provided by an employer that makes iPhones, according to multiple media reports.
Local media quoted a statement from Alby John, collector in Tiruvallur, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, saying there was an outbreak of acute diarrheal disease among Foxconn employees beginning on Dec. 15 after having hostel food in dormitories where they live. A collector is the main representative of a district’s administration.
The Foxconn factory in the town of Sriperumbudur, in the same state, makes iPhones for Apple Inc., according to Reuters.
In total, 256 workers were treated as out patients and 159 were hospitalized with almost all now discharged.
More than 100 of the women workers from the manufacturing plant staged a protest out of concern about their colleagues. It held up traffic on the Chennai to Bengaluru highway on Saturday and police had to intervene. Most of those detained have since been released.
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