Seventy employees of a plastic company were hospitalized with suspected food poisoning in east China's Zhejiang Province on Monday.

The victims, all from the Zhongmao Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. in Jiaxing City, suffered vomiting and other symptoms after they ate lunch.

"Less than 20 minutes after lunch, my heart was beating faster, and I had numbness in my hands and feet. My colleagues also showed similar symptoms," employee Tang Shunhu said at a hospital later in the afternoon.

"I have been receiving treatment for several hours, but I still feel weak," he said.

The sick employees were being treated at two hospitals in Jiaxing and were stable, said Chen Jianqiang, director of the company's general office.

"The ill people all ate red-braised pork at lunch, so we suspect there's something wrong with the meat," said Chen, who is among the sick.

Food samples were being tested and the results would be announced in three days, according to the Jiaxing Food and Drug Administration.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2008)