Ready Pac halts shipments of green onions to Taco Bell
Ready Pac halts shipments of green onions to Taco Bell
Following an announcement from Taco Bell Corp. of a preliminary and inconclusive test for E.coli O157:H7 on green onions, Ready Pac announced that it has taken immediate precautionary measures to protect public health.
"Even though the test results are not confirmed, we have taken every prudent precaution and immediately stopped production and shipments of all green onions," Steve Dickstein, vice president of marketing for Ready Pac, said in a Dec. 6 statement. Green onions are produced only in a limited production run exclusively for Taco Bell in one section of Ready Pac's Florence, NJ, plant.
"All raw and processed green onions have been removed from the plant as part of our precautionary measures," Mr. Dickstein said.
Ready Pac is working with Taco Bell, regulatory agencies and industry experts to determine the root cause of this issue. Ready Pac fully cooperated with the Food & Drug Administration and local health officials during their visit to the facility. All operations are continuing normally except for the green onion line, which was previously discontinued.
Ready Pac said that it purchases green onions from a reputable grower equally committed to food safety. Importantly, green onions are not used in any other product Ready Pac sells to either foodservice restaurants or for retail product distribution.
Ready Pac has earned an outstanding safety record for nearly 40 years and said that it is saddened by the news of the E.coli outbreak and to hear about those who have fallen ill. "Food safety has always been our number one priority, and we believe that any food related illness is one too many," the company said in the statement.
"Again, the test results are inconclusive, but we have taken these precautionary measures as we investigate the issues. Ready Pac will continue to take all necessary steps and will continue to fully communicate updates to our customers, consumers, suppliers and the media," Mr. Dickstein added.
"Even though the test results are not confirmed, we have taken every prudent precaution and immediately stopped production and shipments of all green onions," Steve Dickstein, vice president of marketing for Ready Pac, said in a Dec. 6 statement. Green onions are produced only in a limited production run exclusively for Taco Bell in one section of Ready Pac's Florence, NJ, plant.
"All raw and processed green onions have been removed from the plant as part of our precautionary measures," Mr. Dickstein said.
Ready Pac is working with Taco Bell, regulatory agencies and industry experts to determine the root cause of this issue. Ready Pac fully cooperated with the Food & Drug Administration and local health officials during their visit to the facility. All operations are continuing normally except for the green onion line, which was previously discontinued.
Ready Pac said that it purchases green onions from a reputable grower equally committed to food safety. Importantly, green onions are not used in any other product Ready Pac sells to either foodservice restaurants or for retail product distribution.
Ready Pac has earned an outstanding safety record for nearly 40 years and said that it is saddened by the news of the E.coli outbreak and to hear about those who have fallen ill. "Food safety has always been our number one priority, and we believe that any food related illness is one too many," the company said in the statement.
"Again, the test results are inconclusive, but we have taken these precautionary measures as we investigate the issues. Ready Pac will continue to take all necessary steps and will continue to fully communicate updates to our customers, consumers, suppliers and the media," Mr. Dickstein added.
