Taco Bell pulls green onions after its tests find E. coli
Taco Bell pulls green onions after its tests find E. coli
Taco Bell Corp. announced Dec. 6 that it had removed green onions from its nearly 6,000 restaurants nationwide after its own preliminary tests showed the onions were tainted with E. coli O157:H7.
By press time, more than 40 people in five states were sickened from E. coli O157:H7, and federal food-safety officials believed that the latest information points the finger at diced green onions that were precut and bagged exclusively for Taco Bell.
"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, Taco Bell president. The company had closed eight restaurants on Long Island, NY, and one in New Jersey after more than 40 people became ill, many of whom were hospitalized as a precautionary move.
"Based on the preliminary test results we received late last night, the company did not want to wait and took immediate action to safeguard public health," Mr. Creed said in a Dec. 6 press statement.
Taco Bell relied on its own independent lab, which found positive test results for E. coli O157:H7 in three samples of green onions before making the decision to remove the products. State and federal health officials are conducting their own testing, and Taco Bell is still awaiting the final call from its preliminary tests.
Once conclusive test results are available, the company will provide that information to the public, including commercial supplier information, according to communications from Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum! Brands Inc. The distributor to all Taco Bell restaurants nationwide, Texas-based McLane Co., said that state and federal health inspectors toured its distribution center in Burlington, NJ, as part of the probe. "They just looked at our records and supply dates," said a McLane spokesperson. "They did not walk the facility."
"Taco Bell has a very sophisticated traceback system," Amy Philpott of the United Fresh Produce Association's said in suggesting that the produce industry should learn much about the supply chain dynamics in this outbreak investigation. The green onion industry is expected to be hit hard, as Taco Bell is a huge customer, she added.
If green onions are implicated, the entire industry will need to take a look at its food-safety practices, said Ms. Philpott. The produce industry had written a draft commodity-specific guidance for green onions that has yet to be released. That guide will be fast-tracked, she added.
Industry trade associations participated in a Dec. 6 conference call with FDA authorities to hear the latest information, a stinging reminder of the daily updates they received during the contaminated spinach incident. It was suggested during the call that the source of green onions may be domestic, even though the bulk of green onions sold in the United States during November are grown in Mexico.
Federal health officials said that outbreak cases in this incident began Nov. 20 and continued until Dec. 6. Taco Bell's New York and New Jersey outbreak widened to Pennsylvania on Dec. 5, when health authorities said they were investigating four cases linked to the fast-food restaurant chain. Sources now say the outbreak has grown to restaurant patrons in Connecticut and Delaware.
The green onion industry was shaken in 2003 after more than 600 people became ill and three died from hepatitis A after eating green onions at another Mexican restaurant chain. Reeling from the outbreak at one of its Pennsylvania restaurants, Chi-Chi's filed for bankruptcy protection shortly after the outbreak. U.S. authorities concluded that the contamination probably originated in the fields or packinghouses in Mexico in that incident.
By press time, more than 40 people in five states were sickened from E. coli O157:H7, and federal food-safety officials believed that the latest information points the finger at diced green onions that were precut and bagged exclusively for Taco Bell.
"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, Taco Bell president. The company had closed eight restaurants on Long Island, NY, and one in New Jersey after more than 40 people became ill, many of whom were hospitalized as a precautionary move.
"Based on the preliminary test results we received late last night, the company did not want to wait and took immediate action to safeguard public health," Mr. Creed said in a Dec. 6 press statement.
Taco Bell relied on its own independent lab, which found positive test results for E. coli O157:H7 in three samples of green onions before making the decision to remove the products. State and federal health officials are conducting their own testing, and Taco Bell is still awaiting the final call from its preliminary tests.
Once conclusive test results are available, the company will provide that information to the public, including commercial supplier information, according to communications from Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum! Brands Inc. The distributor to all Taco Bell restaurants nationwide, Texas-based McLane Co., said that state and federal health inspectors toured its distribution center in Burlington, NJ, as part of the probe. "They just looked at our records and supply dates," said a McLane spokesperson. "They did not walk the facility."
"Taco Bell has a very sophisticated traceback system," Amy Philpott of the United Fresh Produce Association's said in suggesting that the produce industry should learn much about the supply chain dynamics in this outbreak investigation. The green onion industry is expected to be hit hard, as Taco Bell is a huge customer, she added.
If green onions are implicated, the entire industry will need to take a look at its food-safety practices, said Ms. Philpott. The produce industry had written a draft commodity-specific guidance for green onions that has yet to be released. That guide will be fast-tracked, she added.
Industry trade associations participated in a Dec. 6 conference call with FDA authorities to hear the latest information, a stinging reminder of the daily updates they received during the contaminated spinach incident. It was suggested during the call that the source of green onions may be domestic, even though the bulk of green onions sold in the United States during November are grown in Mexico.
Federal health officials said that outbreak cases in this incident began Nov. 20 and continued until Dec. 6. Taco Bell's New York and New Jersey outbreak widened to Pennsylvania on Dec. 5, when health authorities said they were investigating four cases linked to the fast-food restaurant chain. Sources now say the outbreak has grown to restaurant patrons in Connecticut and Delaware.
The green onion industry was shaken in 2003 after more than 600 people became ill and three died from hepatitis A after eating green onions at another Mexican restaurant chain. Reeling from the outbreak at one of its Pennsylvania restaurants, Chi-Chi's filed for bankruptcy protection shortly after the outbreak. U.S. authorities concluded that the contamination probably originated in the fields or packinghouses in Mexico in that incident.
