Quick answer
What to do first
Check the cook, kitchen cleanliness and food source separately. A clean room does not cancel every poisoning risk, and eating previously prepared food can cause more cases after you improve the kitchen. Fix future production while caring for affected pawns.
Match your symptom
| Symptom | Likely cause | Check | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Many cases after shared meals | A prepared food source is suspect | Trace which stacks and meal sources were used. | Separate suspect older food from new production while ensuring a safe food supply. |
| Kitchen looks clean but cases continue | Cook or ingredient risk remains | Inspect cooking ability and whether food is eaten raw. | Improve the cook and use suitable prepared food; cleanliness is only one factor. |
| New meals follow dirty kitchen work | Room contamination | Look for dirt, traffic and a butcher station in the cooking room. | Separate dirty work and keep the cooking area clean. |
| Pawn still sick after fixes | Existing poisoning must run its course | Inspect the Health condition and access to food/rest. | Support recovery; do not confuse prevention changes with an instant cure. |
Trace the source of poisoning
Trace the meal before rebuilding the whole kitchen. A case appearing today may come from older cooked food or a different source. Keep track of what was prepared before the change and avoid mixing the investigation with a completely new food policy.
Check kitchen, cook and ingredients
A skilled cook and a clean room address different causes. Cleaning alone does not make a low-skill cook infallible, and an excellent cook cannot turn unsafe handling into a guarantee. Keep dirty processing away from cooking and give cleaners access to the actual room.
Separate old food from new cooking
Do not dispose of every meal without a fallback if the colony is already short of food. Isolate a suspect source when practical, produce a fresh batch under improved conditions, and watch what is eaten. Stored food and stacking behavior make an immediate all-clear unreliable.
Care while prevention takes effect
Food poisoning can disrupt work and appetite while it lasts. Make food and rest accessible and monitor vulnerable pawns. Once the immediate episode is controlled, check the food chain for a repeated cause rather than expanding fields to compensate for avoidable illness.
Version & sources
Sources & what may change
- Applies to
- Core · PC 1.6.4850. Optional branches: Biotech.
- Last verified
- 2026-09-04
- When to check again
- Recheck after a relevant game patch, DLC change or source correction. Mods can change these conditions.
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