Boskovich Farms and Taco Bell sued; FDA yet to pinpoint food source
Boskovich Farms and Taco Bell sued; FDA yet to pinpoint food source
WASHINGTON -- Two days after Taco Bell pulled green onions from its restaurants, a Pennsylvania man has sued Taco Bell and green onion supplier Boskovich Farms, saying that his E. coli O157:H7 infection was tied to tainted green onions served at the Mexican fast-food restaurant.
But the Food & Drug Administration said that federal authorities have yet to pinpoint a source of the outbreak, which has grown to 63 confirmed cases of E. coli infection in six states.
Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Utah have reported cases of illnesses, and many more are under investigation in other states. Forty-nine people have been hospitalized, and seven have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.
"The food vehicle has not been confirmed," Chris Braden, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, said at a Dec. 8 press conference.
FDA's top food safety medical officer, David Acheson, said that investigators are testing other fresh produce items and cheese served at Taco Bell to narrow the cause of the outbreak, and they are combing through company records and supplier data to trace these products. Federal and state laboratories have yet to confirm the tests run by Taco Bell, which found three "presumptive positives" of E. coli O157:H7 on green onions that prompted the restaurant chain to pull them from its 5,800 restaurants. These rapid tests can lead to false positives, explained Dr. Acheson, and final test results were not available yet.
Until FDA knows definitively the responsible food item, investigators "don't want to focus down on one commodity," Dr. Acheson said.
"We've been contacted by over a dozen people who became ill after eating at Taco Bell, and we expect that number to grow," said William Marler of the law firm Marler Clark, who filed suit against Boskovich and Taco Bell in federal court.
"Although E. coli lawsuits serve the dual purpose of compensating victims fairly for their injuries and making those who caused the problem take legal responsibility, what we need is more stringent regulation of the fresh produce industry," said Mr. Clark. "With over 300 people becoming ill with E. coli O157:H7 in the past three months, it's time growers and processors cleaned up their act and prevented contaminated produce from reaching consumers."
Dr. Acheson said that the recent outbreaks tied to fresh produce are "unacceptable" and that "something needs to change." He said that more scrutiny of bulk processors of fresh-cut produce may be needed. If contamination happens at that point, it can easily spread, he said. FDA needs to make sure companies are following Good Manufacturing Practices.
California-based Boskovich Farms was one of the suppliers involved in Chi- Chi's hepatitis outbreak three years ago when more than 600 people became ill after eating green onions in salsa. In 2000, dozens of people became ill with hepatitis A after eating contaminated green onions at Taco Bell locations in Florida, Kentucky and Nevada, according to Marler Clark.
"Boskovich Farms continues to cooperate with both Taco Bell and Ready Pac, its regional processing company, to understand all it can about recent illnesses associated with Taco Bell restaurants in the northeastern United States," the company said in a Dec. 8 statement.
"To date, Boskovich Farms still has not been contacted by any state or federal government agency, and it is our understanding that investigators have not yet identified the cause of the illnesses. We have received questions about the growing region of the green onions supplied to Ready Pac. The bulk green onions used for processing were grown by Boskovich Farms in the Oxnard region only. Other packs of green onions sold for retail, wholesale and foodservice packages, bunched and iceless, are grown in a different region and are not in question regarding the recent illnesses."
The company said that its "focus will remain on ensuring our products and operations are safe and free of contamination, and on assisting the ongoing investigation in every way we can."
But the Food & Drug Administration said that federal authorities have yet to pinpoint a source of the outbreak, which has grown to 63 confirmed cases of E. coli infection in six states.
Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Utah have reported cases of illnesses, and many more are under investigation in other states. Forty-nine people have been hospitalized, and seven have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.
"The food vehicle has not been confirmed," Chris Braden, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, said at a Dec. 8 press conference.
FDA's top food safety medical officer, David Acheson, said that investigators are testing other fresh produce items and cheese served at Taco Bell to narrow the cause of the outbreak, and they are combing through company records and supplier data to trace these products. Federal and state laboratories have yet to confirm the tests run by Taco Bell, which found three "presumptive positives" of E. coli O157:H7 on green onions that prompted the restaurant chain to pull them from its 5,800 restaurants. These rapid tests can lead to false positives, explained Dr. Acheson, and final test results were not available yet.
Until FDA knows definitively the responsible food item, investigators "don't want to focus down on one commodity," Dr. Acheson said.
"We've been contacted by over a dozen people who became ill after eating at Taco Bell, and we expect that number to grow," said William Marler of the law firm Marler Clark, who filed suit against Boskovich and Taco Bell in federal court.
"Although E. coli lawsuits serve the dual purpose of compensating victims fairly for their injuries and making those who caused the problem take legal responsibility, what we need is more stringent regulation of the fresh produce industry," said Mr. Clark. "With over 300 people becoming ill with E. coli O157:H7 in the past three months, it's time growers and processors cleaned up their act and prevented contaminated produce from reaching consumers."
Dr. Acheson said that the recent outbreaks tied to fresh produce are "unacceptable" and that "something needs to change." He said that more scrutiny of bulk processors of fresh-cut produce may be needed. If contamination happens at that point, it can easily spread, he said. FDA needs to make sure companies are following Good Manufacturing Practices.
California-based Boskovich Farms was one of the suppliers involved in Chi- Chi's hepatitis outbreak three years ago when more than 600 people became ill after eating green onions in salsa. In 2000, dozens of people became ill with hepatitis A after eating contaminated green onions at Taco Bell locations in Florida, Kentucky and Nevada, according to Marler Clark.
"Boskovich Farms continues to cooperate with both Taco Bell and Ready Pac, its regional processing company, to understand all it can about recent illnesses associated with Taco Bell restaurants in the northeastern United States," the company said in a Dec. 8 statement.
"To date, Boskovich Farms still has not been contacted by any state or federal government agency, and it is our understanding that investigators have not yet identified the cause of the illnesses. We have received questions about the growing region of the green onions supplied to Ready Pac. The bulk green onions used for processing were grown by Boskovich Farms in the Oxnard region only. Other packs of green onions sold for retail, wholesale and foodservice packages, bunched and iceless, are grown in a different region and are not in question regarding the recent illnesses."
The company said that its "focus will remain on ensuring our products and operations are safe and free of contamination, and on assisting the ongoing investigation in every way we can."
