Forty-six employees at NAFCO Wholesale Seafood Distributors, in the US state of Maryland, have been hospitalized after getting food poisoning -- but it's not because of any seafood processed at the plant.

The Howard County Department of Health confirmed that around 3:45 pm on Monday (Oct. 21), firefighters and paramedics from the county's fire and rescue services responded to NAFCO's facility in Jessup, Maryland, for a report of "multiple patients with food poisoning after allegedly eating the same food," reports ABC 7 News. 

The news service -- based on accounts from the company, which is a division of Stanley Pearlman Enterprises (SPE), and health officials, reported that the source of the illness was lunch served by an employee, who shared a noodle dish containing chicken and pork he cooked at home. 

A company official told the outlet that employees began falling ill around three hours after eating the food. The county health department has since clarified that "preliminary indications are that the illness is related to outside food prepared by an employee and shared with others at the facility." The agency said there's "no risk of further illnesses connected to this incident."

All the patients are said to be in non-critical condition, but the volume of patients did put Howard County General Hospital into a "mini disaster alert," the news service reported.

"NAFCO wishes those affected a safe and speedy recovery," the company reportedly told Fox 5 DC. The processor and distributor, which has been in business since 1991, said it maintains the "highest standards of food safety" and regularly "undergoes rigorous inspections by health authorities."

NAFCO distributes fresh and frozen fish, and also does private labeling. Its brands include North Atlantic Fish Company, Baltimore Crab Company, and Baltimore Clam & Oyster Company.