TORONTO - The Ontario government and the city's health department is looking into an incident at a Toronto jail where a tray of chicken was dropped on the institution's kitchen floor and then served to prison staff.

Brent Ross, a spokesman with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, confirmed that the incident happened, but wouldn't comment further.

An official from Toronto Public Health said an investigation is still ongoing, and that the incident happened last Friday around noon. Public health inspector Jim Chan said a tray of jerk chicken was dropped on the kitchen's floor, placed back on the metal tray by kitchen staff, and then served to administrative staff, including some guards.

Several staffers became ill, but Chan could not confirm if the sickness was due to the chicken, as samples of the food have not come back from a provincial lab yet.

The incident happened at the jail's Toronto Intermittent Centre in Etobicoke.

Prison superintendent Jennifer Alphonso was not available for comment.