Taco Bell Removes Green Onions After E. Coli Outbreak

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Taco Bell Removes Green Onions After E. Coli Outbreak

Taco Bell ordered the removal of green onions from its 5,800 restaurants nationwide Wednesday after samples appeared to have a harsh strain of E. coli.

The fast-food chain, whose restaurants were linked to a outbreak of E. coli in three states, said preliminary testing by an independent lab found positive results for the strain.

Taco Bell said that the tests are not conclusive, but that it immediately notified health authorities and its restaurants while it awaits a final analysis.

"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.

Four Taco Bell restaurants in New York were shut down Wednesday, bringing to five the number to fall under close scrutiny in the wake of an E. coli outbreak whose cause is still unknown, according to Taco Bell officials.

The four restaurants closed today are in Patchogue, Deer Park, Port Jefferson Station and Riverhead in Suffolk County after health officials noted a "cluster" of E. coli, a bacteria, that sickened 11 county residents.

Nine of 11 people confirmed with the infection reported eating at the restaurants during the period of Nov. 20 through Nov. 25, said company spokesman Rob Poetsch.

A restaurant in Middlesex County in central New Jersey was closed Thursday when health officials began looking into the source of an E. coli outbreak that sickened nearly a dozen people, mostly children, Poetsch said.

"There's been no definitive connection with any of our restaurants," Poetsch said.

The New Jersey restaurant, set to reopen Thursday, has been sanitized, with all food ingredients replaced -- with the same steps in store for the four New York restaurants, Poetsch said.

Taco Bell President Greg Creed said the company is taking the steps voluntarily.

"As an extra precaution, we are in the process of sanitizing these isolated restaurants and replacing all the food ingredients before reopening these five restaurants," Creed said. "We are unsure what has occurred, but health officials have indicated that there is no immediate threat and whatever may have occurred has most likely passed through the system since there have been no new cases since Nov. 29.

"We are obviously very concerned about the well-being of all those who have been affected by this incident and will continue to work closely with health authorities to get to the root cause of the issue," Creed added.

According to news reports, six people in New Jersey remain hospitalized.

The chain, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., reopened restaurants linked to the outbreak on New York's Long Island after the eateries were sanitized.

But it closed nine outlets in suburban Philadelphia after health officials reported an E. coli outbreak that sickened four people there.

Health officials have not yet been able to pinpoint the source of the bacteria that have sickened at least three dozen people in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Nine people remained hospitalized, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage.

An outbreak of hepatitis A in 2003 in western Pennsylvania was linked to tainted green onions from Mexico served at a Chi-Chi's restaurant. Four people died and more than 600 people were sickened.

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

On Tuesday, Taco Bell representatives and state and federal health inspectors visited a food distribution center in Burlington, N.J., that supplied the Long Island and New Jersey restaurants patronized by people who were sickened.

"It involves tracking your way back and trying to see if by process of elimination you can determine the root cause," said Bart McKay, a lawyer for the distributor, Texas-based McLane Co.

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.

New Jersey's health commissioner has said the most recent case of E. coli was reported Nov. 29, so the danger of infection might have passed.

Two of the New Jersey restaurants implicated were inspected and remained open. The third, in South Plainfield, remained closed Wednesday morning. Health officials in that restaurant's county said Wednesday they were inspecting food that one still-hospitalized victim had saved, but that tests would not be available until later in the week.

Pennsylvania officials were working to determine if the outbreak there was linked to the New York and New Jersey cases. Three of those who fell ill at the end of November had eaten at a Taco Bell, state Health Department spokesman Troy Thompson said. Two were hospitalized and released.

The nine Taco Bell restaurants located in suburban Philadelphia were voluntarily closing as a precaution, the Montgomery County health department said.

In New York, Irene Abbad stopped at a Taco Bell on Long Island on Tuesday, but she was afraid to eat the food and ordered only a soft drink.

After hearing about the outbreak, she called her son, who she said is a frequent Taco Bell customer. "I said, `Don't eat Taco Bell for a while."'

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, even death.

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

For more information on E. coli, visit the National Institutes of Health Web site: NIH E. Coli Information

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