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Hold the Onions

Mike

Well-known member
Dec 6, 6:44 PM (ET)

By ANGELA DELLI SANTI

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. (AP) - Taco Bell ordered scallions removed from its 5,800 U.S. restaurants Wednesday after tests suggested they may be responsible for the E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least three dozen people in three states.

The fast-food chain said preliminary testing by an independent lab found three samples of green onions appeared to have a dangerous strain of the bacterium.

"In an abundance of caution, we've decided to pull all green onions from our restaurants until we know conclusively whether they are the cause of the E. coli outbreak," said Greg Creed, president of Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell.

The company would not immediately identify the supplier of the scallions, so it was unclear whether contaminated green onions reached other restaurants or supermarkets.


Tainted green onions from Mexico were blamed for a 2003 outbreak of hepatitis A in western Pennsylvania that was also traced to a Mexican restaurant. Four people died and more than 600 people were sickened after eating the green onions at a Chi-Chi's.

California is the nation's largest supplier of green onions. But by December, as winter sets in, the vegetable is often imported from Mexico.

At least 42 confirmed cases of E. coli sickness linked to Taco Bell have been reported in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Two Taco Bell restaurants on New York's Long Island were closed Wednesday for cleaning. The chain, a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc. (YUM), had reopened other restaurants there linked to the outbreak. A Taco Bell in New Jersey remained closed for cleanup. Two other Taco Bells in New Jersey that were implicated never closed.

In Trenton, Nidhi Trikha stopped by an unaffected Taco Bell for a quick lunch Wednesday that included a chicken quesadilla and a bean chalupa - but no green onions. After hearing about the outbreak, she said she was sorry she ate.


"I know fast food is always unhealthy, but it's quick and cheap," she said. "God, I hope I'm OK."

McLane Co., which distributes food to the region's Taco Bells, said federal investigators planned to test green onions, regular onions, cilantro, tomatoes and lettuce from its southern New Jersey warehouse.

Authorities also planned to look at a nearby facility of a produce processor, Ready Pac Produce, which handles lettuce, tomatoes, onions and other ingredients for Taco Bell. A Ready Pac spokesman did not immediately return calls.

At least five people in the three states remained hospitalized, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage. New Jersey's health commissioner has said the most recent case of E. coli was reported Nov. 29, so the danger of infection appears to have passed.

E. coli is found in the feces of humans and livestock. Most E. coli infections are associated with undercooked meat. The bacteria also can be found on sprouts or leafy vegetables such as spinach. The germs can be spread by people if they do not thoroughly wash their hands after using the bathroom.
E. coli, or Escherichia coli, is a common and ordinarily harmless bacteria, but certain strains can cause abdominal cramps, fever, bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, blindness, paralysis and death.

Earlier this year, three people died and more than 200 fell ill in an E. coli outbreak that was traced to packaged, fresh spinach grown in California.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Larry Miller said the outbreak could affect Taco Bell sales in the short term. "It will take time for consumers to get confidence back, but it will come back," he said.

Taco Bell established a telephone number, 1-800-TACO BELL, for those with concerns about the outbreak.

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PORKER

Well-known member
Taco Bell Bans Green Onions After E Coli Outbreak


By Staff

(AXcess News) Washington - An outbreak of Escherichia coli infections in people who ate at 11 Taco Bell restaurants in New York and New Jersey has sickened more than 3 dozen people in 3 states and prompted the company to remove green onions from its outlets nationwide.

At least 79 people in New Jersey and New York and 7 in Pennsylvania fell ill with E coli O157:H7 infections in the outbreak, the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger reported today. Nine people remained hospitalized, including an 11-year-old boy who was in stable condition with kidney damage.

In a news release, Taco Bell Corp. announced today it had removed green onions from all of its 5,800 restaurants after an independent testing laboratory hired by the company found three samples of green onions that were positive for E coli O157:H7 in preliminary tests.

"In an abundance of caution, we've decided to pull all green onions from our restaurants until we know conclusively whether they are the cause of the E coli outbreak," said Taco Bell President Greg Creed in the press release.

Seventeen types of food taken from a Taco Bell in South Plainfield, N.J., tested negative for pathogens, Marilyn Riley, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, told the Star-Ledger. She added that the state's public health laboratory will continue testing additional samples.

New Jersey health officials said their investigation would likely focus on produce because some of the people who ate at New Jersey Taco Bell outlets are vegetarians.

E coli O157:H7 is the same strain blamed for an outbreak associated with fresh spinach that sickened 200 people and caused 3 deaths in September and October. The strain produces a toxin that causes diarrhea - often bloody - and abdominal cramps, but typically no fever. The illness usually resolves in 5 to 10 days but can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, potentially leading to kidney failure or death, in 2% to 7% of patients.

The first illness was reported Nov 17, the Star-Ledger reported on Dec 3. Though health officials haven't announced a definitive cause, media reports say that most of the patients had eaten at Taco Bell restaurants in South Plainfield, Edison Township, and Franklin Township, N.J.

Most of the patients are children, ranging in age from 1 to 23 years old, David Papi, Middlesex County health director, told the Star-Ledger.

All 11 Taco Bells implicated in the E coli outbreak used the same food distributor, Texas-based McLane Co., the AP reported. Taco Bell representatives, along with state and federal health inspectors, toured a Burlington, N.J., distribution center that supplied 8 restaurants in New York and 3 in New Jersey.

Yesterday Taco Bell said in a press release that it had closed 8 of its restaurants for 1 day so the company could replace food supplies and clean and sanitize the restaurants, utensils, and cooking equipment.

In September 2003, green onions served in restaurants were linked to outbreaks of hepatitis A in 4 states, including one in Pennsylvania that sickened more than 600 people and resulted in 3 deaths. The US Food and Drug Administration confirmed that green onions in 3 of the outbreaks came from Mexico.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
A spokesman for the processing company, Ready Pac, said Wednesday that it had cleared the plant of all raw and processed green onions, which it gets from a California grower.**** Those CA. growers are getting hammared,Hope this isn't from Cattle Too.

"Even though the test results are not confirmed, we have taken every prudent precaution and immediately stopped production and shipments of all green onions," said Steve Dickstein, VP marketing for Ready Pac ***
Somebody Knows Something in CA!
 
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