Yourlawyer.com (Taco Bell E Coli News)

Taco Bell E. Coli Outbreak Still a Mystery

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Last year’s Taco Bell E. coli outbreak should be a closed case by now, but contradictory reports on the outbreak leave the impression that health investigators know very little about the E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens of people across the country. While California health officials maintain that contaminated lettuce served at Taco Bell was responsible for the E. coli illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that contaminated lettuce was only one of several possible E. coli sources.

In December 2006, E. coli poisoning in patrons of Taco Bell restaurants around the country began to be reported. E. coli is a bacterium that occurs naturally in the intestines of most animals, including humans. Most types of the bacteria are harmless, but the E. coli 0157:H7 strain that was involved in the Taco Bell outbreak can be particularly dangerous to people. The symptoms of E. coli poisoning usually occur within 3 to 9 days after a victim eats contaminated foods. E. coli 0157:H7 causes a disease called hemorrhagic colitis, which is the sudden onset of stomach pain and severe cramps. This is followed by diarrhea that is watery and bloody. Sometimes there is vomiting, but there is no fever. The illness lasts about a week. While most people will recover completely, E. coli poisoning can be very dangerous for children, the elderly and anyone with a weak immune system. In some cases, E. coli 0157:H7 will cause a disorder called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can be life-threatening. According to the CDC,
E. coli 0157:H7 is responsible for sickening 73,000 people every year, and of those, 60 will die from the disease.

Ultimately, a total of 71 E. coli poisoning cases in five states were linked to Taco Bell restaurants: Delaware (2 cases), New Jersey (33 cases), New York (22 cases), Pennsylvania (13 cases) and South Carolina (1 case — this person ate at a Taco Bell in Pennsylvania). A total of 53 hospitalizations and 8 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome were also reported.

An investigation into the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak by the California Food Emergency Response Team determined that lettuce from two California growers was to blame for the outbreak. But a traceback by the Food & Drug Administration did not find E. coli contamination in those lettuce fields. Further, the CDC report on the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak was less definitive about its source. The CDC report reads in part: “Public health investigators have identified a few ingredients that were consumed more often by ill persons than well persons and were statistically linked with illness: lettuce, cheddar cheese, and ground beef.”

The Taco Bell E. coli outbreak illustrates how difficult it is for health authorities to definitively determine the origin of a food poisoning outbreak. It is doubtful that the source of the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak will ever be determined with certainty.

Families struck by E. coli demand better monitoring

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter Tuesday urged lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation's food supply. "I can't protect them from spinach only you guys can," said Michael Armstrong, as he and wife, Elizabeth, cradled daughters Ashley, 2, and Isabella, 5. The girls fell ill, Ashley gravely in September after eating a salad made with a triple-washed bag of spinach contaminated by E. coli.

That and other incidents of contamination have raised questions not only about the U.S. food supply but also efforts by the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies to keep it safe.

"I hope these hearings will help alert the American people, Congress and the administration to the seriousness of this issue. If it is not taken seriously, these kinds of poisonings can, and will, happen again. Food poisonings will happen to you, to me and to our children and our pets," said Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

Also testifying was Gary Pruden, joined by his 11-year-old son, Sean, who was seriously sickened in November by E. coli after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant. Pruden said a key element of trade and commerce is trust - whether placed in accountants, airline pilots or auto mechanics.

"That is also extended to the trust in the food we order or buy from the grocery store - that it's edible and safe. Without that trust, commerce cannot work. And where failure occurs, oversight is required," Pruden told the subcommittee.

The safety of food raised domestically was questioned anew last fall when officials traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to contaminated spinach processed by Natural Selection Foods LLC. Three people died and nearly 200 others were sickened. More recently, contaminated peanut butter and pet food have been recalled.

"I don't see the latest string of incidents as aberrations. It's become a systemic problem and it calls for systemic solutions," said Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat.

DeGette has introduced legislation that would give the FDA and Agriculture Department the authority to mandate recalls, in line with a proposal by the Government Accountability Office. Other legislative efforts include proposals to create a single Food Safety Administration and develop a uniform reporting system to track contaminated food.

The Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was the subject of a nationwide recall in February after a salmonella outbreak. More than 400 people were sickened, and the recall cost manufacturer ConAgra Foods Inc. $50 million to $60 million.

Victims of Tainted Spinach, Peanut Butter Urge Congress for Better Oversight of Food Supply

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter put a human face Tuesday on a recent string of high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness, urging lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation's food supply.

"I can't protect them from spinach only you guys can. I can't," said Michael Armstrong, as he and wife, Elizabeth, cradled daughters Ashley, 3, and Isabella, 5.

The two girls fell ill, Ashley gravely in September after eating a salad made with a triple-washed bag of the leafy greens contaminated by E. coli.

That and other incidents of contamination have raised questions not only about the U.S. food supply but efforts by the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies to keep it safe.

"I hope these hearings will help alert the American people, Congress and the administration to the seriousness of this issue. If it is not taken seriously, these kinds of poisonings can, and will, happen again. Food poisonings will happen to you, to me and to our children and our pets," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. "The American people expect and deserve better from its government."

Also testifying was Gary Pruden, whose 11-year-old son Sean was seriously sickened in November by E. coli after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant. Pruden said a key element of trade and commerce is trust whether placed in accountants, airline pilots or auto mechanics.

"That is also extended to the trust in the food we order or buy from the grocery store that it's edible and safe. Without that trust, commerce cannot work. And where failure occurs, oversight is required," Pruden told the subcommittee.

The safety of food raised domestically was questioned anew last fall when officials traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to contaminated spinach processed by Natural Selections LLC. Three people died and nearly 200 others were sickened.

Testing put in place by the company since the outbreak has found 35 lots of spinach contaminated by E. coli, said Stupak, suggesting the problem is ongoing.

"I don't know what the right answer is, but I do know what the wrong answer is: It is to continue doing what we're doing, when it's not working," Michael Armstrong later told Stupak when asked how the food safety system should be changed.

The popular Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was the subject of a nationwide recall in February after a salmonella outbreak. More than 400 people were sickened, and the recall cost manufacturer ConAgra Foods Inc. between $50 million and $60 million.

Terri Marshall said her mother-in-law, Mora Lou Marshall, has been hospitalized or in a nursing home since early January, after she became seriously ill from eating Peter Pan. The elder Marshall, 85, had kept a jar of the peanut butter on her nightstand to supplement her diet — and had unwittingly continued to eat it, even after she fell ill.

"The very food she thought would improve her health had begun to ravage her body," Terri Marshall said.

Pet food has also had its problems. In March, Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans of dog and cat food after the deaths of 16 pets, mostly cats, that had eaten products contaminated with the chemical melamine. Other companies have since recalled pet foods also tainted by melamine, mixed in with ingredients imported from China.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, called on the Chinese to allow FDA inspectors visit the plants where the tainted ingredients were made. The agency has awaited letters from the government needed to obtain visas for its inspectors.

"My message, and I think the message of this subcommittee on a bipartisan basis, to the Chinese government is plain: stop these shenanigans," Barton said.

Witnesses slated to testify later Tuesday included officials from food manufacturers and distributors involved in the recent food recalls.

"I don't see the latest string of incidents as aberrations. It's become a systemic problem and it calls for systemic solutions," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. Degette has introduced legislation that would give the FDA and Agriculture Department the authority to mandate recalls.

Consumers still worried about E. coli

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

September's national spinach recall has shaken consumer confidence in the safety of leafy green vegetables, according to a new national survey.

Consumers are still avoiding greens and questioning safety issues, months after spinach contaminated with E. coli bacteria killed three people and sickened nearly 200.

Plummeting spinach sales have also prompted the produce industry to seek federal oversight to assure buyers that fresh produce is safe.

"We need to be in front of this to maintain consumer confidence," said Tom Stenzel, president of the United Fresh Produce Association, a leading trade group. "Consumers need to eat fresh produce and feel safe in their choices," he said.

A new national survey to be released Monday by Rutgers University suggests that the broad recall could have lasting effects on spinach and other similar vegetables. As a result, consumers felt uncertain and threw away other bagged produce that was not affected by the recall.

William K. Hallman, director of the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers, called the September spinach recall and the E. coli contamination at Taco Bells on the East Coast three months later a "signal event" in the public's perception of food safety.

"Consumers' expectations were violated by the fact that a product they thought was clean and wholesome turned out to be something they did not expect," he said. "It raises questions about other produce that are grown in the same way."

The survey showed nearly 9 out of 10 consumers said they heard about the recall, but nearly 1 in 3 said they didn't know the recall was over when the survey was taken. About 1 in 5 who were aware of the recall also stopped eating other bagged produce, and 7 percent threw out fresh produce other than spinach during the recall. More than 75 percent of respondents with spinach in their home threw it out.

More than half of the people who ate spinach prior to the recall hadn't returned to eating it when the survey was taken.

Uncertainty generated by the inability to quickly pinpoint the source of the contamination and the broad nature of the recall caused confusion, Hallman said.

"This has caused people to take a step back and think about what they're eating in terms of produce, more generally than just spinach, and where it comes from," he said.

The national telephone survey of 1,200 people was conducted over three weeks in November, more than six weeks after the spinach recall but before the Taco Bell outbreak. The sampling margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Some consumers like Anna Blanco have yet to buy spinach or bagged salads since the recall. Before the outbreak, she bought spinach once a week.

"You don't know if it's going to happen again," said Blanco, 62, as she shopped at a Whole Foods store in West Orange, N.J. "I don't buy anything bagged. I can get other vegetables, carrots or broccoli."

Kristina DiGiglio began buying spinach again within the last month. The 28-year-old graphic designer said she waited so long because she wanted to feel confident about safety and was nervous before.

"I wanted to make sure it was all clear," she said.

Sales figures through Dec. 23 from 16,000 conventional supermarkets, not including big-box stores such as Wal-Mart or Costco, showed an overall 14 percent drop in spinach sales from a year ago, according to the Perishables Group. Bulk spinach dropped by nearly half and even packaged salad without spinach dropped about 10 percent.

"The spinach contamination may have had a spillover effect to other produce items," said Ed Mackowiak, vice president of sales for FreshLook Marketing. His company's survey of 17,000 grocery stores, not including Wal-Mart or Costco, showed a nearly 17 percent drop in sales of bulk and bagged spinach for 2006 as compared to a year ago.

One explanation for the drop is limited supply, depleted after the recall, said Steve Lutz, executive vice president of the Perishables Group.

Consumer preference for spinach-free salads led Pacific International Marketing to stop growing and selling the baby spinach it used to put into salad mixes, said Tom Russell, president of the grower and shipper of leafy green vegetables in Salinas, Calif.

Sales of salad mix took a roughly 50 percent hit after the September E. coli outbreak, and the mix is now selling only about 75 percent as well as it had been, he said. Sales of conventionally grown bunched spinach are about 80 percent what they were before the September outbreak, he said.

"There's still a lingering hangover," Russell said.

The industry is seeking new federal regulations that would oversee produce handling and production, said Stenzel, of the produce association.

"We're asking for uniform national standards across all growing regions with a compliance measurement implemented by government that assures public trust," he said. "We need to do this on a forward basis, not just after something goes wrong."

David Acheson, chief medical officer for food safety at the Food and Drug Administration, said he's unsure what federal regulations would look like.

"We're going to have to up the ante a little bit, but it's not quite clear what that will be," he said. "At the end of the day, we don't want people getting sick."

Industry, government join E. coli fight

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

In light of food poisoning outbreaks involving spinach and lettuce, the government and the produce industry are scrambling to make leafy greens safer before the spring planting season.

New guidelines from the industry are due in April on how to prevent contamination throughout the food chain, from before greens are planted until they reach the dinner table.

Members of Congress are asking federal agencies to report on what went wrong and how to fix the problem. Some lawmakers want to replace the patchwork system of federal food regulation with a single agency in charge of what people eat.

States are active, too. In California, where most of the nation's green leafy vegetables are grown, farmers are poised to approve new labeling by March for farms that follow stricter practices for raising greens.

In New Jersey, where small family farms were hurt by a nationwide spinach ban right at the start of September's harvest, the state has set up a task force to improve produce safety.

"This whole issue has gathered significant momentum in light of the recent outbreaks," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer for food safety at the Food and Drug Administration.

The spinach outbreak killed three people and sickened more than 200. An E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce sickened dozens of people who ate at East Coast Taco Bell outlets and Midwest Taco John's restaurants in November and December.

Two salmonella outbreaks blamed on tomatoes made about 400 people sick in October and November.

The number of foodborne illness outbreaks generally has declined over the past decade. Still, greens are especially vulnerable to outbreaks because they tend to be eaten raw proper cooking kills E. coli and other bugs and grow close to soil, which may hold manure-based fertilizer that can contaminate the produce.

Many states probably will attempt improvements before the spring planting season, said Bob Ehart, spokesman for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

"The states that we've had conversations with are all very concerned about the issue and are looking at it," Ehart said.

Since September, two produce industry groups that together represent thousands of U.S. growers, processors, distributors, restaurants and supermarkets have worked to hasten revised guidelines for preventing contamination of leafy greens.

The goal is to tell farmers, before spring planting, and then consumers about the new safety guidelines.

"I think we have to show the consuming public as well as government officials that we can manage this," said Bryan Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association.

Jim Gorny, head of food safety at the other group, the United Fresh Produce Association, said irrigation water is a focus.

"What industry's doing now is a very deep soul-searching in making sure no risk is left unchecked," he said.

The industry is pushing for voluntary changes and not more government regulation, Gorny said.

Since the spinach outbreak in September, lawmakers in Congress have pushed to put one agency in charge of food safety, require regular inspection of processing plants and give the government authority to do food recalls.

Joe Shoemaker, a spokesman for Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said "chances just got better" because there is broad support for these measures among Democrats who will take control of Congress this month.

The FDA started work on new safety recommendations in 2004 and has come up with voluntary guidelines for the vegetables that cause more than 80 percent of outbreaks from produce. They are lettuce and leafy greens, tomatoes, green onions, herbs and cantaloupes.

As outbreaks have continued, the agency has looked for more ways to prevent them and respond more quickly. But that effort has been slowed while agency staff was diverted to handle the latest outbreaks.

"Obviously, up to this point things have not worked as well as they should have," Acheson said.

Consumer groups say things have not worked well because of inadequate money and staffing at FDA.

Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Food Safety, said putting one agency in charge of food safety would be a big improvement.

"It's regulatory chaos" now, Kimbrell said.

The Bush administration opposes the idea, saying it is unnecessary.

Reports of Produce Outbreaks on the Rise

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Recent E. coli outbreaks have drawn attention to foodborne illnesses, and though officials say the overall number of cases is on the decline, produce particularly leafy vegetables is increasingly a carrier of germs once linked only to meat and dairy.

From 1996 to 2005, illnesses were down for virtually every major foodborne germ, including E. coli, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But the number of cases of foodborne illness related to produce has more than doubled within that time, from about 40 in 1999 to 86 in 2004, said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest. Each case has affected an average of 50 people.

Newer technology and better informed consumers mean more cases are being reported, and also have made the outbreaks easier to track.

"Thirty years ago, if someone had intestinal problems, they might say, 'Oh, it's a 24-hour flu.' Today they think, 'It might be something else, let me go to the doctor,'" aid Steve Koike, a plant pathology researcher at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Monterey.

At least 71 people who said they ate at Taco Bell restaurants since November fell ill from E. coli contamination, likely in iceberg lettuce, federal health officials said. Earlier this year, packaged spinach tainted with E. coli sickened 187 across the country, killing one.

Health officials believe most cases of E. coli contamination originate on the farm, where produce can come into contact with bacteria-laden animal feces. The spinach outbreak was blamed on wild pigs.

And in a large-scale farming system where produce travels hundreds of miles, a product can easily spread disease, said Trevor Suslow, a vegetable expert with the University of California, Davis.

"If there is an issue with any particular product, then it's more likely that more locations would get it simultaneously," he said.

There was a 29 percent decline of the dangerous strain of E. coli from any source between 1998 to 2005, though it remains the leading cause of foodborne illness.

E. coli, or Escherichia coli, is a common and ordinarily harmless bacteria found in the guts of cattle and other animals. The dangerous strain E. coli O157:H7 can cause abdominal cramps, fever, bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, blindness, paralysis, even death.

Meat can be rid of harmful germs through cooking an important step missing in the consumption of fresh produce, said Trevor Suslow, a vegetable expert with the University of California, Davis.

The federal Food and Drug Administration and states oversee produce processing plants and the Department of Agriculture oversees meat and dairy products, but food safety at the farm level is largely self-regulated.

Farmers, who say food safety is their No. 1 priority, are tired of being seen as the bad guy and are working to implement voluntary standards that are science-based and practical, said Dave Kranz, a spokesman for the 88,000-member California Farm Bureau Federation.

But the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the federal government last month to set regulations on manure, irrigation and sanitation facilities for farmworkers to ensure compliance across the board, DeWaal said.

"People should not be afraid of their food especially their fresh food. I mean, fresh fruits and vegetables are supposed to be good for you, right?" she said.

Lettuce now suspected in E. coli cases at Taco Bell

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Lettuce was the most likely source of an outbreak of E. coli linked to Taco Bell, federal health officials said Wednesday.

Officials said the outbreak appears to be over and that tracing the source of the suspected lettuce could prove difficult because the shredded lettuce was processed in bulk.

Taco Bell had said contaminated green onions were responsible for the cases of food poisoning 71 confirmed cases of E. coli in five states, primarily New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Follow-up government testing, however, failed to confirm that.

Interviews led investigators to think that lettuce was the probable culprit, health officials said.

"That I would say is the most likely vehicle. I would warn we are not done with the investigation," Dr. Christopher Braden, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, told reporters.

Investigators had considered cheddar cheese and ground beef as well. They said Taco Bell's menu, which offers various combinations of the same ingredients, made it difficult to pinpoint the source of the contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration plans to try to trace the lettuce to its source, said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of the agency's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

New leaf turned in inquiry

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Lettuce grown in the West was implicated yesterday as the food that sickened dozens of people in five states with a dangerous bacterial strain that infiltrated numerous menu items served at Taco Bell outlets.

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, using a mathematical probability that roughly amounts to a process of elimination, statistically pointed to shredded lettuce that garnishes much of the fare served at the chain.

In a hastily arranged news briefing late yesterday, Greg Creed, Taco Bell's president, said his restaurants will continue to serve lettuce but will abide by its embargo on green onions, even though they were declared free of all contamination by federal health authorities.

"At this point, we do not intend to reintroduce green onions into Taco Bell," Creed said.

But with lettuce now in the hot seat and still on the menu Creed said he's convinced it poses no dangers to the chain's consumers.

"We have changed our lettuce supplier," Creed said during a national telebriefing yesterday. "And yes, we do buy it already shredded from a supplier. The lettuce is rinsed, cleaned and packed at the supplier."

Taco Bell announced earlier this week that it had switched suppliers for its fresh produce. Creed yesterday would not reveal the name of the former supplier, which could have shipped lettuce contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a deadly strain linked to illnesses in 71 people in five states, including New York.

On Long Island, eight Taco Bells were closed last week, then reopened after food was destroyed and the facilities were cleaned. There have been 12 confirmed cases, and 164 probable cases, in Suffolk. In Nassau, there are three laboratory-confirmed cases and 85 under investigation.

Indeed, the identity of the supplier is being so closely guarded that neither health officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor the CDC would reveal the company's name.

Creed would only say this yesterday about the supplier's whereabouts: "In a very general sense, I would say the West."

Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer in the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said the name of the supplier is confidential because an investigation is under way. The FDA, he said, is conducting a traceback probe, a complex series of studies that ultimately leads back to the field where the suspect lettuce was grown.

Keeping the supplier's name secret, however, is a sharp departure from the openness with which federal health officials conducted the recent investigation of E. coli contamination of spinach.

Lettuce and spinach grown in California's Central Valley have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 20 times in the past decade. Outbreaks linked to leafy greens from the region have triggered a spate of federal probes and a major initiative to ensure safe growing practices.

Acheson yesterday said the "topography" of lettuce lends itself to contamination if a tainting source is within reach of a growing lettuce crop.

Dr. Christopher Braden, the medical epidemiologist at the CDC who is leading that agency's end of the probe, said that after questioning people who ate at Taco Bell, scientists had limited their search to three foods: lettuce, cheddar cheese and ground beef.

He said health officials interviewed people who were sickened and compared their responses to people who ate at the chain and did not get sick.

"We've looked at a large number of ingredients and none of the other ingredients are showing an association, and that includes the question of the onions," Braden said.

Creed said federal health officials ruled out cheddar cheese and ground beef because both are heat-treated. The cheese, he said, is pasteurized, and the beef is precooked before it arrives at Taco Bell restaurants.

CDC: E. coli outbreak not tied to onions

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Onions probably didn't cause the E. coli outbreak linked to Taco Bell, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, as the fast-food chain launched a media campaign to persuade customers its food is safe.

Its analysis had shown so far that "onions of any type are probably not linked to this outbreak," the CDC said Tuesday.

The announcement came one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it could not confirm that scallions were the cause of the problem, as previously suspected, and that it was not ruling out any food as a possible culprit.

The statements could complicate Taco Bell's efforts to reassure patrons through a wide-reaching media blitz.

In an open letter to customers published in USA Today, The New York Times and other newspapers, Taco Bell President Greg Creed said he would support the creation of a coalition of food suppliers, competitors, government and other experts to explore ways to safeguard the food supply chain and public health.

Creed underscored the safety mantra in media interviews, telling Associated Press Television that he had assured his daughter, a college freshman in New York, and her friends that Taco Bell food is safe.

"I can assure you, I would not tell my daughter that unless I absolutely believed it," Creed said.

Creed did not provided further details about how an industry safety coalition might work. Representatives of other fast-food chains did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Bryan Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association, a trade group that represents restaurants, farmers and other companies in the produce supply chain, said such an industry coalition already exists.

The group was formed two years ago and has been particularly active since September, when three people died and more than 200 became ill because of a spinach-related E. coli outbreak.

"The largest restaurant and supermarket chains have been active in this process," Silbermann said. "As far as I'm aware, Taco Bell has not been involved."

Irvine-based Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., ran ads in a number of papers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, where an outbreak of the bacteria has sickened 67 people who ate at the chain's restaurants.

A sample of white onions taken from a Taco Bell restaurant in New York was found to be positive for a strain of the bacteria that hasn't been linked to any cases of illnesses in the U.S. within 30 days, the FDA said.

Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch said the company believes its food is safe because green onions were removed from use last week and restaurants have been sanitized. No additional cases of Taco Bell patrons falling ill with E. coli have been reported since Dec. 2, according to the FDA.

Some Taco Bell regulars weren't worried.

"Even if they don't know what caused the outbreak, Taco Bell restaurants are probably safer now than before because of all the scrutiny they've received," said Bruce Brandywine, 41, who was one of eight people in line at lunchtime at the Taco Bell in DeWitt, a suburb of Syracuse, N.Y.

Separately, nearly three dozen people were sickened in recent days with symptoms consistent with E. coli infection after eating at a Taco John's restaurant in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Authorities are also investigating reports that at least 14 other people became ill after eating at two of the chain's restaurants in Albert Lea and Austin, Minn.

On Tuesday, several lawmakers, including Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both Democrats from New York, called on federal agencies create a joint task force to examine the E. coli outbreak and recommend changes in laws and regulations to prevent contamination of food.

After being harvested, most produce is moved to processing plants where it is washed, sorted and cooled for transport to supermarkets or distribution centers around the country.

Major distributors follow testing guidelines at various steps along the chain. For the past decade, all the major restaurant and supermarket chains have insisted that outside auditors monitor suppliers, Silbermann said.

Jim Lugg, food safety chief at Salinas, Calif.-based produce processor and distributor Fresh Express Inc., said the company has standards in place that cover the entire supply chain.

FDA Narrows Investigation of E. Coli O157:H7 Outbreak at Taco Bell Restaurants

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today narrowed its investigation of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to Taco Bell restaurants in Northeastern states by focusing its efforts on finding the sources of shredded lettuce served at the stores. This new focus is based on the fact that three items shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese and cooked ground beef were implicated in a study conducted by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the items most likely to have been the vehicles of pathogen (disease-causing agent) transmission in this outbreak. Based on a number of other factors, as well as food processing techniques used for cheese (pasteurization) and ground beef (cooking), lettuce is considered overall to be the single most likely source of the outbreak at this time.

The peak of the outbreak occurred in the last week of November. A total of 71 cases in five states Delaware, 2 cases; New Jersey, 33 cases; New York, 22 cases; Pennsylvania, 13 cases; and South Carolina, 1 case have been reported to the CDC. The single case in South Carolina occurred in a person who ate at a Taco Bell in Pennsylvania. The number of new cases has declined substantially. For the latest details about these cases, see the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2006/december/120806.htm.

The information about items likely to have transmitted the pathogen in this outbreak comes from a CDC "case control" study, which involves interviewing ill and well Taco Bell restaurant patrons about what food items they consumed. By comparing foods consumed by ill and well persons, investigators can show statistical links to particular food ingredients. This does not establish that these foods are the causes of the outbreak, but it does give clues as to where further investigation should focus to try to find hard evidence of the cause.

Because of this, FDA investigators are further expediting review of Taco Bell records obtained from the firm in order to trace the distribution channels of the lettuce and identify the farm or farms where the lettuce was grown, as well as all firms and facilities that handled the product between harvest and delivery.

FDA has no indication that lettuce or cheese served at any other restaurant, or lettuce or cheese sold in any other venue, is connected with this outbreak. The agency is aware of the outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 at Taco John's restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota, and is monitoring these closely in cooperation with state health authorities. Based on available information these outbreaks do not appear at this time to be related to the Taco Bell outbreak.

FDA continues to collaborate with CDC, and with state and local health officials, to determine how the outbreak occurred and find the source of suspect food items.

Infection with E. coli O157:H7 can cause diarrhea, often bloody. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to a form of kidney failure. This condition is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death. Consumers who are concerned that they may have contracted E. coli O157:H7 infection should notify their local health department, and contact their physician or health care provider to seek medical attention as needed.

More information about E. coli O157:H7 and the outbreak linked to Taco Bell restaurants on the East Coast is available at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/EcoliOutbreaks/restaurants.html.

3 more residents of city suspected to have E. coli

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Three more city residents have come down with suspected cases of E. coli infection after eating at Taco Bell restaurants, the city Health Department said yesterday, bringing the total to 12 suspected cases and one confirmed case that of a Staten Island woman.

The Islander who got sick reported eating at an unidentified Taco Bell before going to a hospital on Nov. 24. She was treated and released, and has made a full recovery, the department said.

The restaurant where she ate has been sanitized and all produce removed, health officials said.

The department previously reported inspecting a Taco Bell restaurant on Staten Island, although it did not disclose which one. It's unclear whether that is the restaurant in which the woman ate.

Health officials said the Island restaurant did not have any major food safety violations, nor did it have on the premises any green scallions, a vegetable that has been linked to the outbreak.

As of yesterday, neither of Staten Island's two hospitals reported having treated any confirmed or suspected cases of E. coli infection.

The current E. coli outbreak, which has been associated with Taco Bell restaurants in five states, has affected 64 people, including 22 in New York and 28 in New Jersey, according to a report updated yesterday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

E. coli is a bacteria that causes diarrhea that is often bloody and accompanied by intense abdominal cramps. It can lead to kidney failure.

It typically takes two to eight days for people to develop symptoms after being exposed to the bacteria.

Eating undercooked or contaminated beef is the most common cause of E. coli-induced illness, but people have also gotten sick from eating fresh vegetables, such as the bagged spinach that earlier this year caused a nationwide outbreak.

While fruits and vegetables should all be washed before consumption, washing does not always remove E. coli bacteria. Only cooking food thoroughly will remove the bacteria's threat.

Illnesses at Iowa Taco Joint Tied to E. Coli Outbreak

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Nearly three dozen people fell ill, including 14 who were hospitalized, with symptoms consistent with infection by the E. coli bacteria after eating at a Taco John's restaurant, a local health department said. Test results were expected Monday.

The Taco John's restaurant has removed any suspected ingredients from its menu and sanitized the facility, said Tom O'Rourke, the Black Hawk County Health Department director.

Brian Dixon, vice president of marketing for Taco John's, said the company had sent a representative to review cooking and food storage procedures, and to examine cleaning reports and employee health records.

Taco John's is based in Cheyenne, Wyo. It has no connection to Taco Bell, which has been linked to an outbreak of a harsh strain of E. coli that has sickened more than 60 people in the Northeast.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 61 cases in five states, most in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, plus one in South Carolina.

On Sunday, the New York Health Department confirmed that city's first case caused by the same strain of E. coli found in the other confirmed cases, spokesman Jeff Cowley said. That person was admitted to a hospital on Nov. 24 after eating at a Taco Bell, but has fully recovered, Cowley said.

Taco Bell officials said Saturday they had determined that scallions were the likely source of the bacteria. The company said it has switched produce suppliers.

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.

E. coli outbreak widens to Minnesota

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

A suspected E. coli outbreak that began in Iowa widened in Minnesota on Tuesday, with health officials linking 14 apparent cases to Taco John's restaurants in Albert Lea and Austin.

A spokesman for the Wyoming-based chain confirmed that the two southern Minnesota restaurants get their produce from the same supplier as the Taco John's in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where nearly three dozen people developed E. coli symptoms earlier this week after dining there.

Those infected all ate at the three restaurants in roughly the same time period, the last few days of November and the first few days of December, said Kirk Smith, supervisor of the Minnesota Department of Health's foodborne disease unit.

Half of the 14 Minnesota victims ate at the Albert Lea restaurant, the other half in Austin, Smith said. He said he wouldn't be surprised to see at least a few more cases crop up in the next day or two.

Taco John's spokesman Brian Dixon identified the produce supplier for the three restaurants as St. Paul-based Bix Produce. But he stressed that the restaurant chain doesn't yet know if the produce was the source of the E. coli. The disease can also be carried by undercooked meat, and Dixon said the chain is testing samples of all types of food from the restaurants in question.

"We're still trying to pinpoint exactly what happened," Dixon said. The company may decide to switch suppliers, he said.

Bix Produce Chief Operating Officer Duane Pfleiger stressed that produce has not been implicated in the illnesses and that the investigation is ongoing.

"There is no conclusive evidence pointing toward produce or any other item that might be the cause of this," he said, adding that Bix Produce has a strong safety record.

E. coli is a common, usually harmless bacteria, but certain strains can cause abdominal cramps, fever, bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, blindness, paralysis, even death.

It is found in the feces of humans and livestock. The germs can be spread by people if they do not thoroughly wash their hands after using the restroom.

Five of the Minnesota cases have been confirmed as E. coli at local hospitals, Smith said, but the Department of Health plans to make its own confirmation in each case. He said DNA testing will also be used to independently confirm that the Minnesota and Iowa contaminations came from the same source.

One victim hospitalized
One of the Minnesota victims has developed kidney complications and has been hospitalized, Smith said.

In the Iowa cases, preliminary test results showed that E. coli was the likely culprit for symptoms that sickened about 40 people and sent 18 people to the hospital in late November and early December.

The restaurants in Albert Lea and Austin have remained open. Both sites threw out their entire food supplies, and Dixon said both are entirely replacing their produce stock every four hours. He said the company has also sent in a trainer to check on restaurant conditions.

E. Coli Outbreak

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: The E. coli outbreak is now affecting seven states, and reportedly there are 400 cases in the Northeast. And in a new twist, the source of the Taco Bell contamination may not be green onions after all. It turns out that the test that implicated the scallions was wrong. White onions have now tested positive with a different E. coli strain that's not linked to any illnesses.

And overnight there was news that an E. coli outbreak at Taco John's restaurant, not linked to Taco Bell, may have spread to Minnesota. There are already cases reported in Iowa. Taco John's, as we mentioned, not affiliated with Taco Bell.

Let's get more this morning on these cases of E. coli.

Sanjay Gupta is in Atlanta this morning.

Good morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of why this is happening. Why do you think?

GUPTA: Well, it's interesting. When you look at these outbreaks overall, there's been almost 700 outbreaks over the last 15 years. So, I mean, these E. coli outbreaks, in and of themselves, are not that unusual.

They do appear to be of larger scale. And we have had a sort of doubling of produce-caused outbreaks over the last several years. Produce seems to be an increasingly large culprit here.

Is it because the farming industry has changed to some degree to have much broader reach in terms of which locations their produce actually reaches? We don't know. There's a lot of theories out there.

But this particular E. coli, this strain of E. coli, is a particularly troublesome one. It gets people quite sick. E. coli can exist very naturally in your body. Several different strains don't make you sick at all, but this one is a bad one Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Why, how could they say at first that the green onions, the scallions, were the source and then later say, well, not the source?

GUPTA: You know, when you look at these medical investigations, what happens is they literally get these people who are sick and they give them questionnaires. I've actually seen this process. It's an interesting process. And they try and find out over the last several days, what did you eat, where did you eat, and they start to find common things among all these people.

Taco Bell ended up being something that was common in all these people. They do a preliminary test on several different food groups. The green onions sort of rose to the top as possibly being infected.

These preliminary tests are not that specific. They're very sensitive, maybe overly sensitive. So it wasn't so much that the test was wrong, it's just that further testing or more definitive testing could not confirm that, in fact, the green onions had the E. coli in them.

The white onions, as you mentioned, did have E. coli, but it's a different strain of E. coli. It's not the one that's causing these illnesses. So that sort of confounds things even a little bit further.

But this is unfortunately sometimes how a medical investigation has to take place. It's a combination of the CDC, who's examining the sick people, then subsequently the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, goes and examines the food and tries to determine which specific food item in these Taco Bells seem to be the culprit here.

S. O'BRIEN: Theoretically, we may never know what exactly caused the outbreak at either the Taco Bells or the Taco John's?

GUPTA: That is possible. Oftentimes, as we saw with spinach and with lettuce, it just takes -- it takes a while. I think people are used to getting quick answers when it comes to these sorts of outbreaks.

You can just see here in the process, you can see that it takes some time. You have got to actually get the people to fill out these questionnaires, find out when they got sick, where they got sick, and then start examining all the e food items.

The fact that the farming industry has changed to some degree and you have distributors distributing to larger, you know, locations, more locations, in some ways makes it easier, because you have fewer culprits from which to choose. But it just takes a while.

NYC case of Taco Bell E. coli confirmed

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

A New York City resident was confirmed to have fallen ill from E. coli after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant, health officials said.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 61 cases in five states, most in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, this is the first time that it has been found in the city.

The Staten Island resident was infected by the same strain of E. coli found in the other confirmed cases, city Health Department spokesman Jeff Cowley said Sunday.

The person, identified only as a Staten Island resident, fell ill and was admitted to the hospital on Nov. 24 after eating at a Taco Bell in the borough.

The person was only tested for the E. coli infection after news emerged of the outbreak, said Health Department spokesman Jeff Cowley. The person was released from the hospital and has made a full recovery.

Officials did not reveal the location where the person ate the meal, but they said it has been sanitized and all produce removed from the site.

Taco Bell officials on Saturday said they had determined that scallions were the likely source of the outbreak. The company said it has switched produce suppliers.

The Staten Island resident was infected by the same strain of E. coli found in the other confirmed cases, Cowley said.

E. coli infection can include bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps or vomiting.

Dozens sickened after eating at Taco John's

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Near three dozen people fell ill, including 14 who were hospitalized, with symptoms consistent with infection by the E. coli bacteria after eating at a Taco John’s restaurant, a local health department said.

Test results were expected Monday.

The Taco John’s restaurant has removed any suspected ingredients from its menu and sanitized the facility, said Tom O’Rourke, the Black Hawk County Health Department director.

Brian Dixon, vice president of marketing for Taco John’s, said the company had sent a representative to review cooking and food storage procedures, and to examine cleaning reports and employee health records.

Taco John’s is based in Cheyenne, Wyo. It has no connection to Taco Bell, which has been linked to an outbreak of a harsh strain of E. coli that has sickened more than 60 people in the Northeast.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 61 cases in five states, most in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, plus one in South Carolina.

On Sunday, the New York Health Department confirmed that city’s first case caused by the same strain of E. coli found in the other confirmed cases, spokesman Jeff Cowley said. That person was admitted to a hospital on Nov. 24 after eating at a Taco Bell, but has fully recovered, Cowley said.

Taco Bell officials said Saturday they had determined that scallions were the likely source of the bacteria. The company said it has switched produce suppliers.

Taco Bell drops produce supplier

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Taco Bell fired its produce provider in the Northeastern states after green onions supplied by the company were suspected in an E. coli outbreak believed to have sickened more than 160 people, company officials said Saturday.

The Irvine-based Mexican food chain also said that it had tested more than 150 ingredients from its restaurants and, with the exception of a preliminary positive result for green onions, everything was contamination-free.

In another development, at least 19 people have become ill with suspected cases of E. coli after eating at an eastern Iowa outlet of Taco John's, an unrelated fast-food chain.

"What we have is suggestive of E. coli, but we do not at this point have a confirmatory test," Tom O'Rourke, director of the Black Hawk County Health Department, told Reuters. Test results are expected Monday.

Taco Bell is waiting for more extensive tests that could determine whether green onions, also known as scallions, were the cause of the outbreak. The onions have been removed from the chain's 5,800 restaurants.

"We've taken this health issue very seriously and are extremely concerned for all those who are ill," said Greg Creed, president of Taco Bell Corp. "Based on our independent testing and all that we know today, I can reassure you that every Taco Bell is safe."

The green onions suspected in the outbreak were grown by Boskovich Farms Inc. of Oxnard and processed at a New Jersey plant owned by Irwindale-based Ready Pac Produce, according to both companies. Taco Bell, however, has not identified its Northeast supplier or disclosed who the new one will be, "for competitive reasons," said Will Bortz, spokesman for the chain.

The switch in suppliers arose from Taco Bell's decision to take "some proactive moves so that customers know our restaurants are safe. If we have to change suppliers to do that, we will," Bortz said.

A Ready Pac spokesman said there still is no firm link between its produce and the E. coli outbreak. Steve Dickstein, Ready Pac's vice president of marketing, said there was at least one reported case from Utah, a region where Ready Pac does not supply the chain. Dickstein also said that Taco John's is not a Ready Pac customer.

"Taco Bell switching to a different provider in the Northeast is no indication that this puzzle has been solved," Dickstein said.

"The Food and Drug Administration has not ruled out any food type, there are no conclusive test results, and the investigation continues," he added.

With the exception of green onions, the company still provides Taco Bell with produce in some areas of the U.S., he said.

Although federal health officials have not identified the exact source for the outbreak, they say the link between the 62 reported cases and at least 100 other suspected cases mostly in New Jersey and New York is that most of the individuals reported eating at Taco Bell.

Creed said about half of the U.S. adult population eats at Taco Bell at least once a month.

Officials tracking the outbreak for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said they expect the number of people taken ill to continue to grow.

E.Coli Outbreak More Widespread In N.Y. Than Suspected

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The E.coli outbreak may be more widespread in New York than first believed, NewsChannel 4 reported.

Health officials in Nassau County have confirmed that preliminary tests found E.coli in discarded green onions in a Taco Bell restaurant in Hempstead. This comes as the number of E.coli cases in New York City is on the rise.

The New York City Health Department has reported one probable case of E.coli contamination in the city and nine suspected cases, according to NewsChannel 4.

Three cases in Nassau County and 13 in Suffolk County have also been confirmed.

Across the state, 223 people may have been sickened by E.coli, but only half a dozen of those cases have been confirmed.

Other states with E.coli cases linked to Taco Bell are: New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Third case of E. coli suspected in Delaware

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

State health officials on Friday confirmed a second case of E. coli infection involving patrons of Taco Bell restaurants and are investigating two other suspected cases.

Public health officials said E. coli infection had been confirmed in a 21-year-old man who ate at a Taco Bell on Concord Pike in Wilmington on Nov. 20. Authorities believe a 14-year-old boy who ate at the same restaurant on Dec. 2 also may be stricken with E. coli.

A second suspected case involves a 59-year-old woman who ate at a Taco Bell in Newark on Nov. 27, but laboratory tests ruled out E. coli as causing the illness of a 22-year-old woman who ate at a Taco Bell on Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington on Dec. 3.

On Thursday, officials said a 15-year-old Elsmere girl was hospitalized for five days with an E. coli infection after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant in New Jersey on Nov. 18.

On Thursday, all 15 Taco Bell restaurants in Delaware closed at the request of state officials and agreed to conduct sanitation and food safety reviews consistent with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control.

Authorities said 13 of the restaurants, including three found to be in violation of health regulations during inspections Tuesday, were re-inspected Friday and allowed to immediately reopen.

The restaurants in Newark and on Concord Pike remained closed pending completion of efforts to clean and sanitize the facilities, discard food items on the premises, collect and analyze stool samples from employees for the presence of E. coli, and provide enhanced food safety and hygiene training to employees.

Health officials began testing food samples from the restaurants, including lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese and salsa, on Thursday.

Taco Bell removed green onions from all 5,800 of its restaurants Wednesday after preliminary tests linked them to the E. coli bacteria. Federal investigators also are scrutinizing other non-meat Taco Bell ingredients, including cheese, lettuce, yellow onions and tomatoes.

At least 59 confirmed cases of E. coli sickness have been reported in six states, with the majority linked to Taco Bell, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Certain strains of E. coli, a common bacteria found in the feces of humans and livestock, can cause abdominal cramps, fever, bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, blindness, paralysis and death. Earlier this year, three people died and more than 200 were sickened in an E. coli outbreak traced to packaged, fresh spinach grown in California.

E. coli outbreak concerns Calif. farmers

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

An E. coli outbreak that has sickened nearly five dozen people in the Northeast is prompting concern among West Coast farmers after officials announced that scallions suspected as carriers of the bacteria came from a Southern California farm.

The green onion link to the infections mostly of customers at Taco Bell restaurants in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia areas hasn't been confirmed. But some experts say the questions already have cast a shadow on an industry still recovering from a similar bacterial outbreak traced to locally grown spinach.

"Even if it turns out that the implication to green onions doesn't hold up, a lot of damage is done," said Trevor Suslow, a vegetable specialist at the University of California, Davis. "It certainly heightens concern and undermines confidence among consumers and buyers about the safety of products coming from the state."

Testing by an independent lab found three samples of green onions that appeared to have a harsh strain of E. coli.

But FDA spokesman Michael L. Herndon cautioned: "All we have been given is presumptive evidence only from a contract lab whose results we can't confirm."

Federal authorities said Thursday there were no plans to issue warnings about scallions.

Taco Bell, an Irvine-based unit of Yum Brands Inc., told customers that in addition to getting rid of its green onions from all 5,800 of its restaurants, it sanitized the affected restaurants and set up a toll-free number for people to call with concerns.

Ready Pac Produce, the sole supplier of green onions to Taco Bell restaurants, stopped scallion production at its Florence, N.J., plant, where the vegetable is washed, chopped and packed.

"As soon as we heard news from Taco Bell about the positive yet inconclusive results, we took immediate action to do everything we could," said Steve Dickstein, marketing vice president for Irwindale-based Ready Pac, one of the nation's leading produce packers.

The suspect scallions were grown by Boskovich Farms Inc. of Oxnard, Dickstein said.

Lindsay Martinez, a Boskovich Farms spokeswoman, said the company was cooperating with the fast-food chain as it attempts to track the source of the bacteria.

The farm, which is about 45 miles northwest of Los Angeles, has not been contacted by health officials, she said.

At least 58 confirmed cases of E. coli sickness have been reported in six states, with the majority linked to Taco Bell, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

This is the second E. coli scare to hit Ready Pac in the past four months. In September, spinach with the Ready Pac label was among dozens of brands pulled from the shelves when federal authorities traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to a Natural Selections LLC processing plant that bags its spinach.

Preliminary tests showed the E. coli strain in the green onions was different from that in the spinach, California health officials said. Three people died and more than 200 fell ill from eating fresh spinach traced to California's Salinas Valley.

Ready Pac washes and sanitizes its onions twice, Dickstein said. The company has not halted production of the lettuce, tomatoes, regular onions and cilantro it supplies to Taco Bell.

If scallions are contaminated at any stage of the growing process, it would be difficult to remove the bacteria solely by washing because the onions can carry pathogens inside their multiple layers, said Douglas Powell, food safety professor at Kansas State University.

E. coli, short for Escherichia coli, is a common and ordinarily harmless intestinal bacteria. According to the CDC, the strain of E. coli that caused the infections is often found in the intestines of healthy goats, sheep and cattle. It can be spread if people don't take steps such as thoroughly washing their hands.

Taco Bell shuts down statewide

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Fourteen Taco Bells in Delaware voluntarily closed Thursday as part of an investigation into an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened two people in this state and more than 50 nationwide.

Investigators believe they have identified a California farm as the source of the tainted scallions, which were processed at the same California produce company linked to the recent outbreak of E. coli in spinach that killed three and sickened more than 200 in September.

Delaware's first case of E. coli was confirmed Thursday in a 15-year-old Elsmere girl who was sickened and hospitalized days after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant in Union County, N.J.

Delaware health officials also said they are investigating a second possible case of E. coli in a 22-year-old Wilmington woman who fell ill Wednesday, three days after eating at the Taco Bell at 4302 Kirkwood Highway in Milltown. Results of tests on the woman are expected late this afternoon.

Cheri Chavis, of Elsmere, said her 15-year-old daughter developed diarrhea, cramps and severe stomach pain days after eating two soft tacos at a Taco Bell in South Plainfield, N.J., on Nov. 18. Health officials would not identify Delaware's two victims.

Chavis' daughter was released from Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children on Nov. 28 after spending five days there, Chavis said. "She's recovering. She's on the road to recovery."

All 14 Delaware Taco Bells will remain shut until they can be cleaned and sanitized and their food supplies inventoried, a process the health department said could take two to three days. State health officials also will collect stool samples from the workers at the Kirkwood Highway location and instruct them on enhanced food handling safety procedures.

"Basically, we're looking at all produce," said Thom May, chief of health systems protection for the state Division of Public Health.

The closures come after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines about how to handle the outbreak and as the number of suspected E. coli cases climbed, said Dr. Jaime Rivera, director of the state Division of Public Health.

As of Thursday evening, the CDC was investigating almost 58 probable cases of E. coli and more than 100 suspected cases in seven states: Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, South Carolina and Utah.

Delaware's restaurant inspection process, like those in other states, focuses on safe food-handling practices by kitchen workers, not on the condition of food before it comes into the kitchen.

Inspectors test the cooking and storage temperatures of food to make sure they are not susceptible to bacteria growth. They do not regularly test for E. coli or other bacteria that might be present in food, especially if it was contaminated before it entered the kitchen.

Inspectors may confiscate a batch of food if it is suspected as the source of a food-borne illness. It then would be tested for bacteria that could be linked to the illness.

Inspectors do check kitchens for food from an unapproved source, such as a home kitchen or a manufacturer that does not conform to the state's health standards. That food is usually thrown away.

Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for Taco Bell, which is based in Irvine, Calif. and is part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands, said the restaurant chain agreed to the closure of its Delaware restaurants and is working with health authorities here and in the other affected states to determine the cause of the outbreak.

"We're working as quickly as we can to get the restaurants resanitized and approved by the health department for reopening," Poetsch said. "Obviously, we're very concerned about the health and well-being of our customers."

On Wednesday, the company removed green onions, which are suspected to be a possible source of the outbreak, from all 5,800 of its U.S. restaurants.

The Taco Bell restaurants in New Castle County are serviced by a McLane Foodservice distribution center in Burlington Township, N.J., the same center that distributes all ingredients, including cheese, meat items and produce, to Taco Bells in New Jersey, Long Island, New York City and portions of eastern Pennsylvania, said Bart McKay, a spokesman for McLane, which is based in Carrollton, Texas.

The Taco Bells in Kent and Sussex counties are served by a McLane distribution center in Manassas, Va., McKay said. McLane is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The Burlington Township distribution center, which remains open, has been sanitized, and company officials are working with the CDC "to assess the scope and cause of the problem and craft a set of remedial actions," McKay said.

Ready Pac Foods Inc., an Irwindale, Calif.-based distributor, supplied McLane. It said it had halted packing green onions for Taco Bell. Ready Pac has removed all green onions from its plant, Steve Dickstein, Ready Pac vice president for marketing, told Bloomberg News. He said the vegetables came from a supplier with farms in California.

Ready Pac was among dozens of brands whose spinach was pulled from supermarket shelves in September after federal authorities traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to a California processing plant that bags spinach for it and other brands.

E. coli probe focuses on green onions

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Non-meat ingredients of Taco Bell menu items are under close scrutiny by state and federal investigators trying to pinpoint the cause of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened nearly four dozen people in three states.

Taco Bell ordered scallions removed from its 5,800 U.S. restaurants Wednesday after tests 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.

Later Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is gathering samples of all non-meat items served in the restaurants that could carry the pathogen and planned to test them at FDA laboratories. The items include cilantro, cheddar cheese, blended cheese, green onions, yellow onions, tomatoes and lettuce, the FDA said.

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

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.

At least 46 confirmed cases of E. coli sickness linked to Taco Bell have been reported in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The FDA said late Wednesday that there are also possible cases in Delaware and Connecticut.

All 15 Taco Bell restaurants in Philadelphia voluntarily closed Wednesday following a recommendation by the city's Department of Public Health.

Two restaurants on New York's Long Island were also closed Wednesday for cleaning. The chain, a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc., had reopened other restaurants there linked to the outbreak. A Taco Bell in South Plainfield, N.J., also remained closed for cleanup.

Investigators were focusing on a southern New Jersey warehouse that distributes food to the region's Taco Bells and a nearby produce processing plant that supplies Taco Bell restaurants in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia areas with green onions, shredded lettuce, regular onions, tomatoes and cilantro.

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.

"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.

The company has not taken similar measures with the other vegetables, he said.

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.

E. coli believed found in city

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

All 15 Taco Bell restaurants in Philadelphia shut down yesterday afternoon, as the E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least four dozen people in New Jersey, New York and Montgomery County was believed to have been also found at a city Taco Bell.

The company voluntarily shut the city eateries pending inspections and food-sample testing by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, department spokesman Jeff Moran said.

Green onions shipped to Taco Bell restaurants through a Burlington City warehouse are the leading suspect in the search for the source of E. coli contamination, health officials said.

However, laboratory tests that would conclusively link the illnesses to the same E. coli strain will not be completed until early next week.

As a precaution, Taco Bell yesterday removed green onions from all of its 5,800 restaurants nationwide because preliminary tests showed three samples of green onions were contaminated with a virulent strain of E. coli.

The company's nine restaurants in Montgomery County were closed yesterday for cleaning and replacement of food supplies, county Health Department spokeswoman Harriet Morton said.

She added that three of four residents with confirmed E. coli infections ate at the Gilbertsville Taco Bell in western Montgomery County.

The fourth Montgomery County resident was not interviewed until yesterday, when it became clear that he ate at a Taco Bell in Philadelphia near the suburban border.

In New Jersey, tests confirmed that E. coli infected the 11-year-old girl who became ill after eating at the Cherry Hill Mall Taco Bell on Nov. 22, Camden County health officials said. She was hospitalized for almost a week but went home Dec. 2.

Camden County is not closing its nine Taco Bells but is requiring cleaning, food replacement, and testing of food workers' stool samples for E. coli.

In North Jersey, 29 cases of E. coli infection have been confirmed and 13 probable cases are being tested, state Health Department spokesman Tom Slater said.

He said Taco Bell "has been very cooperative" and was considering additional precautionary measures recommended by the state. These would include cleaning and resupplying all Taco Bells in New Jersey that receive food from McLane Foodservice Inc. of Burlington, and also testing workers.

McLane is based in Texas. Its Burlington plant receives already-packaged produce, then delivers the packages to Taco Bell restaurants in the region.

Federal health investigators planned to test five produce items green onions, regular onions, cilantro, tomatoes and lettuce from the Burlington plant, said Bart McKay, a lawyer for the company.

Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but a strain that lives in the intestines of healthy cattle, deer and sheep produces a powerful toxin that can cause severe illness in humans.

Bacteria in the animals' feces may come in contact with food in various ways. Meat can be contaminated during slaughter, milk can be tainted if the bacteria are on cows' udders or milking equipment, and produce can be exposed through water contaminated with animal waste.

If hand-washing is inadequate, E. coli can also be spread from an infected person's stool to another person who touches it say, while changing a sick child's diaper.

Infection often leads to abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and, occasionally, hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause life-threatening kidney failure.

News of the outbreak cooled appetites for south-of-the-border fast food.

During the busy noontime rush at the Cherry Hill Mall food court, holiday shoppers stood in long lines for pizza, sushi, Philly-style cheesesteaks but not soft tacos. Only three customers walked up over a 30-minute period.

One, Angel Hernandez of Pennsauken, had not heard the news about the possibly dangerous green onions. He was surprised but not deterred.

"I eat here all the time," Hernandez said, paying for his soft-taco combo. "I've never had a problem."

Joe McCarron of Coatesville heard about the outbreak but didn't know all nine Taco Bells in Montgomery County were closed.

Taco Bell illnesses up on LI

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The E.coli outbreak expanded dramatically yesterday as the number of people possibly sickened after eating in Taco Bells jumped from 10 to 29 in Nassau County, while Suffolk officials said tests on green onions in a restaurant in Deer Park detected the potentially fatal bacteria.

Nationwide, Taco Bell ordered green onions, also called scallions, removed from all of its 5,800 restaurants as health officials suggested they were the cause of an outbreak that has stricken several dozen people in at least three states.

"In an abundance of caution, we've decided to pull all the green onions from our restaurants until we know conclusively whether they are the cause of the E.coli outbreak," said Greg Creed, president of the Irvine, Calif.-based corporation, whose Taco Bell restaurants draw about 35 million customers a week.

In Suffolk, the number of patients possibly sickened by the contaminated scallions rose from 11 to 12 yesterday, as a new case involving a 9-year-old boy who ate at the Taco Bell in Patchogue surfaced. In Nassau, health officials said their new patients included a woman who ate in a Taco Bell in Naples, Fla., and later became ill after returning to Long Island.

It was not immediately clear if the investigation into the outbreak was expanding to Florida as a result of the woman's illness.

Taco Bell shut nine stores in the Philadelphia area yesterday, set up a nationwide hotline, 800-TACOBELL, for people with concerns about the outbreak, and removed thousands of scallions.

County Executive Thomas Suozzi said Nassau had dispatched inspectors to all 24 Taco Bell restaurants in the county to ensure they had thrown out all scallions. Four stores were closed Monday and reopened Tuesday after contaminated food was removed and the facilities sanitized.

Suozzi also said he had asked two Taco Bell stores in New Hyde Park and Seaford to close because of cases of E.coli linked to them. The manager at the Seaford restaurant refused to close, prompting Nassau officials to contact Taco Bell's corporate headquarters, which then ordered the restaurant shut, Suozzi said.

Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for Taco Bell, said he had no information on Suozzi's allegation but that the restaurant was closed down. Suozzi said a 54-year-old woman who ate at the restaurant was facing a potential kidney shutdown.

In Suffolk, the Department of Health Services said preliminary results of food samples obtained at the Taco Bell in Deer Park tested positive for E.coli using a rapid-testing method. They expect conclusive results today.

Officials said in a statement that they performed the tests on an unopened package of food at the restaurant, which "indicates that the green onions were already contaminated with E.coli O157 prior to being received" by the Taco Bell.

They added that not all the people sickened had eaten items containing green onions, but that "cross-contamination of green onions with other ingredients may explain why" those people fell ill.

Health officials have not fully determined the source of the contamination but are examining a food distribution center in Burlington, N.J., among other sites, for clues as to the cause of the contamination.

Four Suffolk Taco Bells linked to the outbreak were shut down late Monday and re-opened Tuesday after they were completely cleaned and re-sanitized and all existing food was thrown out.

Health officials said they believed the danger had passed because all the people who became ill had eaten at Taco Bell between Nov. 20 and Nov. 25, and no new cases had arisen since then. But they still plan to test newly arrived food at Taco Bells starting today.

Scallions in E. coli case from Calif.

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The scallions suspected in the E. coli outbreak linked to Taco Bell came from a Southern California grower, an official with the company that washed, chopped and packed them for the restaurant chain said Thursday.

Ready Pac Produce, the sole supplier of green onions to Taco Bell restaurants in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia areas, stopped all production of scallions at its Florence, N.J., plant, which was visited Wednesday by federal food inspectors.

"As soon as we heard news from Taco Bell about the positive yet inconclusive results, we took immediate action to do everything we could," said Steve Dickstein, marketing vice president for Irwindale-based Ready Pac, one of the nation's leading produce packers.

Taco Bell removed scallions from all 5,800 of its restaurants Wednesday after preliminary tests linked them to the E. coli bacteria. State and federal investigators also are scrutinizing other non-meat ingredients on the Taco Bell menu, such as cheese, lettuce, yellow onions and tomatoes, as they try to pin down the source.

At least 46 confirmed cases of E. coli sickness linked to Taco Bell have been reported in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Dickstein said the scallions came from Boskovich Farms Inc. of Oxnard, "although the investigation continues as to whether they were contaminated."

The farm did not return repeated calls for comment. Its Web site said it had not been contacted by health officials. Oxnard is about 45 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

This is the second E. coli scare to hit Ready Pac in the past four months. In September, spinach with the Ready Pac label was among dozens of brands pulled from the shelves when federal authorities traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to a San Juan Bautista processing plant that bags its spinach and dozens of other brands. The spinach was traced to California's Salinas Valley, on the Central Coast.

In the latest outbreak, at least five people remained hospitalized, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage. Federal officials said there are possible cases in Delaware and Connecticut, as well. In Delaware, where all 14 Taco Bell restaurants closed voluntarily, public health officials were investigating two cases that may be linked to the outbreak.

Green onions have been the source of nine food-borne illness outbreaks since 1994, said Douglas Powell, food safety professor at Kansas State University. If scallions are contaminated at any stage of the growing process, their structure makes it difficult to remove the bacteria solely by washing because the onions can carry pathogens inside their multiple layers, Powell said.

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

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.

E. coli, short for Escherichia coli, is a common and ordinarily harmless intestinal bacteria. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the strain of E. coli that caused the infections is often found in the intestines of healthy goats, sheep and cattle. Most E. coli infections are associated with undercooked meat. The bacteria also can be found on sprouts or leafy vegetables such as spinach.

It can be spread if people don't take steps such as thoroughly washing their hands.

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.

The first lawsuit has already been filed in the Taco Bell case.

Attorneys for the family of an 11-year-old boy filed suit Wednesday, claiming that negligence by the restaurant chain led to an E. coli outbreak that sickened the boy.

The boy, Tyler Vormittag, became ill after eating three tacos with cheese and lettuce at a Taco Bell in Riverhead, on Long Island, on Nov. 24, according to the lawsuit filed late Wednesday. He was hospitalized Nov. 28 and released Nov. 29, his attorney said.

"When a restaurant serves food, it is deemed to be fit for human consumption and that it does not contain any deleterious or harmful substances," said his attorney. "The Taco Bell restaurant clearly breached that duty."

A Taco Bell spokeswoman said the company had no immediate comment on the lawsuit. The Irvine, Calif.-based chain is a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc.

Outbreak triggers calls for tougher produce guidelines

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The produce industry and federal regulators are facing renewed pressure to adopt stricter guidelines for growing and handling fresh fruit and vegetables after Taco Bell on Wednesday said it would remove green onions from its 5,800 restaurants following a recent E. coli outbreak.

The Irvine-based company said preliminary testing by an independent lab found possible contamination by a potentially deadly strain of E. coli in three samples of green onions. The outbreak has sickened dozens of people in at least four states in the Northeast. E. coli is found in the feces of animals and humans.

"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 Taco Bell Corp., whose corporate parent, Yum Brands Inc., also owns Pizza Hut and KFC.

The episode is the latest in a series of outbreaks of illness — traced to fresh or raw vegetables and fruit. Last month, salmonella-tainted tomatoes sickened 183 people in 21 states and Canada. An E. coli outbreak in September led to the deaths of three people who ate California-grown spinach. And this week, San Francisco-based Jamba Juice issued a warning when a supplier of frozen strawberries discovered some of the fruit was contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that causes diarrhea and fevers and can be fatal to young children and the elderly.

Reports of E. coli infection at Taco Bell restaurants began to emerge on the East Coast late last week. By Wednesday, 70 people in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware were ill, federal investigators said. Additional cases were suspected in Connecticut. No deaths have been reported, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Investigators have not identified the source of contamination, but the outbreak was scaring away fast-food customers some 3,000 miles away from partaking of their usual fare. "It's something to be concerned about," said Gray Palmer, 52, of Highland Park when he drove into a Taco Bell-KFC outlet in Westchester.

"I think I will avoid them for a while until there is an all-clear," said Palmer, who decided on a meal of Kentucky Fried Chicken with a side of mashed potatoes.

El Camino Community College student Marcus White learned about the news as he was driving up to the restaurant. The 19-year-old said it intensified his dislike for onions.

"I definitely won't eat here if I know people have been getting sick from the food, not until I know it's all OK," White said, driving off in his black Ford pickup truck without entering the eatery.

Evidence suggests that the outbreak is expanding, said Robert Tauxe, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Disease, which began studying the cluster of illnesses Monday.

"We don't know the scope of this yet," he said. "I'm glad we're in here early. There may be actions that will stop it from growing."

New Jersey food safety regulators and the FDA are investigating two suppliers: McLane Foodservice and a Florence, N.J., facility operated by Irwindale-based Ready Pac Foods Inc.

McLane is the sole distributor of ingredients for Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey, New York's Long Island, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Ready Pac Produce processes lettuce, tomatoes and onions.

Green onions are processed exclusively for Taco Bell in one section of the Ready Pac plant.

"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, Ready Pac's vice president for marketing. "All raw and processed green onions have been removed from the plant as part of our precautionary measures."

The recent series of outbreaks "indicates that our food supply could be safer," said Carl Winter, a UC Davis food safety expert.

An estimated 76 million Americans are stricken with a food-borne illness annually from consuming tainted food in restaurants and at home, he said.

Fresh or raw produce accounts for more illness outbreaks, and more sick people, than any other food product, said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group that has asked the FDA to issue new regulations to ensure the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

DeWaal's organization wants to bar the use of raw manure as fertilizer during the growing season. It also is seeking more stringent monitoring of manure composting practices to make sure that pathogens are destroyed, and it advocates more frequent testing of water used for irrigation. The Washington-based group also wants packages to better reflect which farm a product came from.

DeWaal said California food and agriculture regulators should move forward with similar rules because the state grew much of the nation's produce and could enact such standards more quickly than the federal government.

"The federal food safety system is at a braking point. Operating under antiquated laws and a shoestring budget, they simply cannot manage the job that is front of them," she said.

Other experts agreed that it was time for the federal government to step in.

"The industry is not addressing this well enough," said Mike Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia.

David Acheson, chief medical officer for the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in College Park, Md., said there might be a place for "a stronger regulatory approach" but for now the agency was busy investigating the causes of the recent outbreaks and what could be done to prevent them.

He said the FDA would need considerably more funding to become a stronger watchdog of the produce industry.

"You can't put a regulation in place and expect it to work if you don't have the manpower to enforce it," Acheson said.

Even as the regulation debate heats up, the major produce industry groups are working to develop growing and processing guidelines that could prevent outbreaks. Growers are facing pressure from a consortium of major supermarkets and food wholesalers that are demanding more stringent and enforceable farming practices.

Safer ways to farm lettuce and other leafy greens were the topic of an industry conference with shippers and retailers in Phoenix on Tuesday, said Tim York, president of Markon Cooperative, a Salinas, Calif.-based buyer for food distributors.

Kathy Means, vice president of government relations for the Produce Marketing Assn. in Newark, Del., said growers were at a disadvantage because so much produce is eaten raw.

"You can't wash berries and mushrooms and then ship them. That would destroy them. And the idea of boiled lettuce doesn't appeal to very many people," Means said.

Food safety experts believe several factors have made produce-transmitted illnesses more prominent. In addition to increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, public health officials have developed better surveillance and data-sharing systems, which leads to better and quicker identification of outbreaks.

When people became sick from food previously, the cause and extent of the outbreak was often never known. Now, however, officials can link incidents of food-borne illness and quickly take action to publicize the outbreak and investigate the source.

And it is only a matter of time before the next outbreak crops up, the experts say.

"The question is not if another outbreak will occur," said Winter of UC Davis, "but rather when and in which commodity."

E. Coli spreads as 9 more Taco Bells close

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

As Taco Bell reopened Long Island restaurants implicated in an E. coli outbreak, the fast food chain 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 has sickened at least three dozen people in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Nine people remained hospitalized in New York and New Jersey, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage.

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.

New Jersey health officials said their investigation would probably focus on produce, not just meat, because some of the 23 E. coli victims who ate at New Jersey Taco Bells were vegetarians.

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 passed from person to person 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 Tuesday evening.

Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., said Tuesday it had sanitized the Long Island restaurants and at least five had reopened by Tuesday evening.

“We have no indication what the source is. We’re looking into all possibilities,” company spokesman Rob Poetsch said.

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.

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

E coli scare closes Taco Bells in Montco

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

An E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens in New York and New Jersey apparently has spread to Pennsylvania, where four food-poisoning cases in Montgomery County prompted health officials to investigate, and Taco Bell to close all of its restaurants in the county Tuesday.

The Mexican fast-food chain, which has been implicated in the outbreak in New York and New Jersey, voluntarily closed its nine Montgomery County locations after at least three people who ate at the company's Gilbertsville area eatery became ill, according to Harriet Morton, a spokeswoman for the county's Health Department.

The department still hasn't determined if the restaurant, on E. Philadelphia Avenue in Douglass Township near the Berks County border, was the source of the outbreak and hasn't identified a specific food source that caused the illnesses. Investigators still are trying to determine if the cases in all three states are linked.

Four Montgomery County residents, all males between the ages of 11 and 20, were sickened in late November by the E. coli bacteria, Morton said. Two were hospitalized but later released, Morton said, adding that none of the four was seriously ill.

In New York and central New Jersey, where about two dozen people were sickened, nine people remained hospitalized Tuesday, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage.

The illnesses followed at least three U.S. deaths in October stemming from an E. coli outbreak tied to California spinach.

Taco Bell, which says it serves 35 million customers weekly at 5,800 restaurants, didn't immediately comment on the Montgomery County cases, but released a statement saying there has been no confirmation that its restaurants were the source of the outbreak in New York and New Jersey.

The company says it threw out all food at the restaurants that were closed and ''completely cleaned and sanitized the restaurants, utensils and cooking equipment.''

Greg Creed, Taco Bell's president, said the company is working closely with health officials to ''determine the root cause of this.'' There was no word on how long the Montgomery County restaurants might be closed.

Texas-based McLane Co., which distributes food to all Taco Bells in New Jersey and the New York City area, said Taco Bell representatives, along with state and federal inspectors, have toured its Burlington, N.J., distribution center.

News that Taco Bell was closing down for the day came as a disappointment to customers visiting the Montgomery Township and Lansdale locations Tuesday night.

Motorists who were lined up to order at the drive-through window at the Montgomery Township restaurant on Route 309 waited in line for about five minutes before realizing it was closed.

''It's scary,'' said Katie O'Neill of Ottsville, who was waiting in line for three tacos.

Chris Benner of Perkasie was looking forward to getting a half-dozen soft tacos and a Burrito Supreme when he visited the Taco Bell on Broad Street in Lansdale. His wife, Monica, said she had heard about the E. coli outbreak, but Chris said, ''I totally forgot about it.''

Although the lights were on inside the Lansdale restaurant, a sign at the entrance told visitors: ''We are temporarily closed. We are sorry for any inconvenience.''

Rich Vetter, manager at the nearby Lansdale Family Restaurant, said the joint Taco Bell-Long John Silver's closed about 4 p.m.

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.

It is found in the feces of humans and livestock. Most infections are associated with undercooked meat. The state Department of Health says most healthy people recover from the illness within a week.

Morton said county health officials were notified of the illnesses by hospitals or physicians' offices. She said the investigation is ''in the beginning phases,'' and ''it might be a while'' before results of tests done on the four patients, whose names were not released, are known.

In New Jersey, officials said their investigation probably would focus on produce, not meat, because some of the people who ate at New Jersey Taco Bells and were infected with E. coli are vegetarians.

The outbreak has underscored the risk of widespread outbreaks of food poisoning at fast-food chains.

''Fast-food restaurants don't purchase ingredients down at the local farmers market. They purchase food nationally, process it nationally and ship it

Taco Bell removes green onions

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Taco Bell ordered the removal of green onions from its 5,800 restaurants nationwide Wednesday after tests suggested they might be responsible for the E. coli outbreak that 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 harsh strain of the bacteria.

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.

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

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.

Food-safety fears revived as Taco Bell pulls onions

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

As Taco Bell Corp. pulled green onions from all of its 5,800 U.S. restaurants Wednesday in the wake of an E. coli outbreak linked to some of its restaurants, questions emerged about whether the current testing procedures on produce entering the nation's food system are adequate.

The fast-food chain said preliminary testing by an independent lab found three samples of green onions that tested positive for E. coli O157:H7, a potent strain of the bacteria.

Taco Bell executives said the tests were not conclusive. But the chain was taking no chances Wednesday when it decided to remove the onions after at least 46 confirmed cases of E. coli sickness were linked to Taco Bells in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania over the past few weeks.

"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's president.

Taco Bell is a unit of Yum Brands Inc., one of the world's largest restaurant operators. It also operates KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and A&W restaurants.

Eighteen Taco Bell restaurants, including nine in suburban Philadelphia, three in New Jersey and a half-dozen on New York's Long Island, have been closed for decontamination. Some have reopened since the outbreak was first reported nearly three weeks ago.

Taco Bell's E. coli problem comes four months after E. coli contamination forced the nationwide recall of packaged spinach from grocery store shelves and restaurants. Three people died and more than 200 fell ill in the outbreak that was traced to packaged, fresh spinach grown in California.

While increased regular testing of the nation's meat supply during the past 20 years has reduced illnesses from meat consumption a more likely place for E. coli contamination produce is still tested randomly. Increasing testing may be key to improving the safety of produce, industry experts said.

Risks may be greater

Robert Tauxe, an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said it may now be riskier to eat produce than in the past.

"The outbreaks are bigger and more frequent than they were 20 or 30 or even 15 years ago," he said in the December issue of Nutrition Action, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Even though we can identify and control outbreaks better than we used to, when contamination does occur with lettuce, spinach, cantaloupe or tomatoes, we can have a big problem on our hands."

Each year, the CDC estimates that as many as 33 million Americans become sick from food-borne illnesses. More than 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die. It's estimated that the illnesses cost more than $10 billion in reduced productivity and medical expenses.

In 2004, the latest year for which data are available, nearly 400 cases of illness caused by produce were recorded, while there were only 171 outbreaks caused by ground beef, according to data compiled by the Centers for Science in the Public Interest.

That is unlikely to change much in the near term because the nation's produce industry can't use "chemical or heat intervention that would be used in other industries" to kill the organisms, according to Sam Beattie, a professor and food safety expert at Iowa State University.

Recalls are only remedy

Beattie said farmers and the industry can't prevent contamination of field crops. Removing or recalling problem produce at the end of the line is really the only remedy at this point, food safety experts say.

"It is very difficult to control what walks across, lands in or slithers through a field. And all of these organisms can carry bacteria. They will deposit their excrement on the plant and it is difficult to detect.

"There is precious little the consumer can do once the produce is contaminated and there is precious little the farmer can do to mitigate the contamination," he said.

That could be a key reason why Taco Bell, the nation's largest Mexican restaurant chain, so swiftly ordered removal of the green onions from its restaurants. Acting fast after a contamination is about the only option food purveyors have.

"Most of the big chains now will err on the side of being overly cautious," said Mac Brand, a consultant with the Hale Group, who said fast-food chains are advised to move swiftly to contain food-borne illnesses.

Rob Hardy, another consultant with the Hale Group said, "All the chains realize the risk for the company and investors and so they have elaborate plans designed to prevent contaminated food from entering the distribution system" and even more detailed plans in how to react.

Tainted green onions from Mexico were blamed for a 2003 outbreak of hepatitis A in western Pennsylvania that was 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 restaurant.

Further tests planned

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.

E. coli is found in the feces of humans and livestock. Most E. coli infections are associated with undercooked meat, but the bacteria also can be found on sprouts or leafy vegetables such as spinach. People can spread the germs 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.

Nassau confirms 4 more cases of E. coli

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Two more Taco Bell restaurants were closed,one in New Hyde Park and one in Seaford, for cleaning on Wednesday amid an outbreak of E. coli bacteria that may have sickened more than three dozen people in Nassau and Suffolk counties and dozens elsewhere around the country.

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi said at a late-afternoon press conference that officials have confirmed four E. Coli cases and were investigating an additional 25 cases of people showing symptoms. In Suffolk County, officials reported one confirmed case on Wednesday, bringing its total to 12.

Three patients in Nassau County remained hospitalized; at least one remained hospitalized in Suffolk.

In response to the outbreak, Taco Bell Corp. on Wednesday announced it has removed green onions from its 5,800 restaurants nationwide.

The Irvine, Calif.-based company said that an independent lab found three samples of green onions that appeared to have a harsh strain of the bacteria.

"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," Greg Creed, Taco Bell president, said in a statement.

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.

On Tuesday, a federal surveillance system reported suspected new cases in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. While few details were available about the situation in Connecticut, Pennsylvania health officials said they were investigating four cases of E. coli in suburban Philadelphia; three of the four people who fell ill in late November said they had eaten at a Taco Bell, a spokesman said.

All eight Long Island Taco Bells that had closed Monday four in Nassau and four in Suffolk reopened Tuesday.

Taco Bell officials said none of their restaurants in New York City were affected by the outbreak of the potentially fatal infection even though they are served by the same distribution center that delivers food to restaurants in Nassau, Suffolk and New Jersey, where health authorities believe at least 36 people who fell ill ate recently.

That led Taco Bell officials to question whether their stores were the actual source of the contamination.

"We really don't know if it's Taco Bell," said Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for the Irvine, Calif.-based corporation, which has nearly 5,800 stores nationwide that attract 35 million customers a week. "We want to find out the root cause of this thing."

Health officials in Nassau and Suffolk said most of the victims had eaten at one of eight Taco Bells between Nov. 19 and 25, and they assumed the restaurant chain was the source.

They said they were allowing the reopenings because no cases have emerged of people who ate at the restaurants after Nov. 25, and they believe the danger has passed. All the stores were shut down Monday, completely cleaned and re-sanitized, while all existing food was thrown out.

"We're taking all the necessary precautions to ensure our customers that our food is safe to eat," Poetsch said. The chain has 204 stores in New York State, 86 in New Jersey and another 200 or so in Pennsylvania and Delaware that are served by the same distribution center.

The food distributor, Texas-based McLane Co., said representatives from Taco Bell along with state and federal health officials toured its distribution center in Burlington, N.J., that supplied the stores involved. Bart McKay, a lawyer for the company, said the inspection Tuesday was aimed at trying to determine the source of the contaminated food and whether it came from Taco Bell restaurants.

County officials in Suffolk and Nassau contacted the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta Tuesday to formally request that the Food and Drug Administration launch an investigation to determine the source of the contamination. That is likely to take a least a week.

Poetsch said Taco Bell tested some food at its store in Plainview, N.J., last week to ensure there was no further contamination of new deliveries, and was weighing similar steps at the restaurants on Long Island but had not yet taken them.

Nassau County officials said they had detected seven new cases of diarrhea associated with eating at a Taco Bell, in addition to three cases disclosed Monday. The restaurants, which were not closed, are located at 3950 Sunrise Hwy. in Seaford and 1650 Jericho Tpke. in New Hyde Park.

Of the 10 total reported cases in Nassau, one is a confirmed case of E. coli 0157, one is strongly suspected and the rest are under investigation. Nassau officials have also detected two other separate cases of E. coli 0157 that appear not to be related to Taco Bell. In Suffolk, County Executive Steve Levy said nine of the 11 people sickened there have been released from the hospital, while two adults, including one elderly person, remain hospitalized in serious condition.

Levy and acting County Health Commissioner David Graham said the county health department received a call from an 11-year-old boy's mother at 3:30 p.m. Friday; she reported that she thought he was sickened by a pet gecko. By 4:30 p.m. a health inspector was at the Taco Bell in Riverhead where the boy had eaten. More reported cases came in during the weekend, and by 11 p.m. Sunday authorities in Suffolk had confirmed a pattern.

By late Monday, the Long Island Taco Bells linked to the outbreak voluntarily closed down. They are located in Patchogue, Port Jefferson, Riverhead, Deer Park, Hempstead, East Meadow, Hicksville and Garden City.

Suffolk officials said they acted as quickly as possible to alert the public. It took until late Monday for the stores to close because Suffolk officials first had to talk to those who reported illnesses and then to Taco Bell officials and learn how the food distribution system worked.

Levy said health officials believed the contamination came from "pre-existing" food delivered to the restaurants and did not come from preparation at the Taco Bells themselves.

"I don't think they caused E. coli; they were the end user," said Dr. Patricia Dillon, director of communicable diseases at Suffolk County Department of Health. "I think they received it bad."

Northeast E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Taco Bell

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The popular Mexican fast-food outlet Taco Bell temporarily closed nine stores in New York and New Jersey due to fears of E. coli contamination. So far, there have been 25 confirmed cases of food poisoning in New Jersey and 14 more in Long Island. Eight of the stores, four in New York’s Nassau County and four in Suffolk County are slated to reopen after health officials and restaurant representatives declared that the threat had passed, and one outlet in New Jersey should reopen shortly.

There has not been a definitive connection made between the outbreak and the eateries, but the large majority of the infected patients had eaten at Taco Bell prior to being sick. All of the closed stores use the same distributor. There have been no reported cases of E. coli infection since November 29.

According to a Taco Bell press release, “While these restaurants have not been confirmed as the source of an E. coli outbreak, Taco Bell decided as a precautionary measure to throw out all existing food and bring in new food. In addition, the company completely cleaned and re-sanitized the restaurant, utensils, and all cooking equipment.”

Two of the victims are in serious condition after suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a kidney disorder that is a complication of E. coli infection and can lead to permanent kidney damage. For most E. coli victims, the infection leads to abdominal pain, fever, and diarrhea, but young children and seniors are more susceptible to serious illness or death. Symptoms usually appear between three and eight days after exposure to the bacteria. The most common cause of infection is eating undercooked beef. More than 70,000 Americans are infected annually with the dangerous strain of E. coli, resulting in approximately 60 fatalities per year.

Taco Bell, a division of Yum Brands, seems convinced that the threat is no longer an issue. According to Reuters, Tim Jerzyk, Yum's vice president of investor relations, told Wall Street analysts this morning that “the E. coli strain appears to have passed through our system,” although it is unclear whether Jerzyk’s pun was intentional or not.

Taco Bells used same distributor

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

All 11 Taco Bells implicated in an E. coli outbreak in New York and New Jersey used the same food distributor, the restaurant chain said Tuesday as health officials tried to pinpoint the source of the dangerous bacteria that sickened at least three dozen people.

Nine people remained hospitalized in New Jersey and New York, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage.

Taco Bell Corp. said it had sanitized its nine closed restaurants and planned to reopen them on Tuesday. At the same time, spokesman Rob Poetsch said: "We have no indication what the source is. We're looking into all possibilities."

The distributor, Texas-based McLane Co., said that Taco Bell representatives and state and federal health inspectors toured the distribution center in Burlington, N.J., that supplied the eight Long Island, N.Y., restaurants and the three in New Jersey.

"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 McLane.

He said McLane distributes to all Taco Bells in New Jersey and in the New York City area, but he had no estimate on how many that is.

The case has underscored the risk of widespread outbreaks of food poisoning at fast-food chains.

"Fast-food restaurants don't purchase ingredients down the street at the local farmers market. They purchase food nationally, process it nationally and ship it across the country," said Carol Tucker Foreman, head of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America.

However, Taco Bell ships its beef-and-bean fillings to restaurants pre-cooked and pre-seasoned to save money, and industry experts said that practice may be safer, because the food is handled by fewer people and is heated twice — once at the plant and once at the individual restaurants.

New Jersey health officials said their investigation would probably focus on produce, not just meat, because some of the 23 people who ate at New Jersey Taco Bells and were infected with E. coli were vegetarians.

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 bacteria also can be passed from person to person if they do not thoroughly wash their hands after using the bathroom.

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

Two of the 11 restaurants implicated both in New Jersey were inspected and remained open.

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.

Foreman criticized the company and health officials because they learned about the first case of E. coli on Nov. 28 but did not close the last of the restaurants until two days later.

"This is a killer bug. This is more than just a belly ache," she said. "The minute they discovered they had more than one case, that's when they should start going into high gear."

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

Pa. health officials investigating four E. coli cases

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The state Health Department is investigating an E. coli outbreak that sickened four people in suburban Philadelphia to determine whether it is linked to an outbreak in New York and New Jersey, a department spokesman said Tuesday.

Two of the four people who fell ill in Montgomery County at the end of November were hospitalized, but both have since been released, health department spokesman Troy Thompson said.

The department has not identified the source of the E. coli contamination, but three of the four people confirmed that they ate at a Montgomery County Taco Bell restaurant, Thompson said.

The company had no immediate comment on the Pennsylvania cases Tuesday.

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.

Eleven Taco Bells that used the same food distributor have been implicated in the New York and New Jersey outbreak, which sickened at least three dozen people.

E. coli infections rise to 19 in N.J.

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

An outbreak of E. coli bacterial infections in central New Jersey has grown to 19 confirmed cases, a health official said Monday. Authorities were still trying to determine how and where the victims became infected over the past two weeks. At least 11 of them ate at a Taco Bell restaurant in South Plainfield, and authorities were expected to finish tests on restaurant workers Monday.

Five of the 19 patients were still being treated in hospitals Monday, said Stephanie Brown, an epidemiologist for Middlesex County. Two of them had developed a condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome that can permanently damage the kidneys.

"It's a significant outbreak and it's a serious disease," Middlesex County Director of Health David Papi said Sunday.

At least two of the victims were adults, while most others ranged in age from 7 to 14, Papi said.

Papi said an inspection of the restaurant, which was closed voluntarily, did not detect any significant health code violations. Tests were being performed on 21 restaurant employees and officials were still looking for a few other workers.

The restaurant chain's employees are required to adhere to strict food-handling rules, said Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for Taco Bell Corp., based in Irvine, Calif.

"We have taken every precaution, including temporarily closing the restaurant until the investigation is completed, as nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our customers and employees," Poetsch said in a statement.

E. coli, short for Escherichia coli, is a common and ordinarily harmless intestinal bacteria.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the strain of E. coli that caused the New Jersey infections is often found in the intestines of healthy goats, sheep and cattle.

Most E. coli infections are associated with undercooked meat. However, the bacteria also can be found on sprouts or green leafy vegetables such as spinach, the CDC said. Earlier this year, three people died and more than 200 fell ill from an E. coli outbreak that was traced to packaged spinach grown in California.

The bacteria also can be passed from person to person if they don't take steps such as thoroughly washing their hands.

In fast-food scare, some slow to close

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Several Taco Bell restaurants in Nassau County remained open last night, despite fears that they might be linked to an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least a dozen people on the island.

All four affected restaurants in Suffolk were closed.

A location at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville was still open at 6:15 p.m. while another in East Meadow remained open at 7:45 p.m. By 8:20 p.m., however, the store in Hempstead had closed.

At the Taco Bell at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City at about 7 p.m., customers became angry when they found out that the restaurant was operating even though officials suspected it in the E. coli scare.

Judy Musick, 57, of Fresh Meadows confronted the manager after having eaten at the restaurant with her grandson.

"I'm absolutely flabbergasted," said Musick, who said her 12-year-old grandson had requested the restaurant.

"I never gave it a second thought because I never heard anything else. He just wanted his chicken and cheese, and I didn't think it would be a problem. God forbid something happens."

The manager of that location said health officials had visited the restaurant earlier and told them everything was fine.

Taco Bell president Greg Creed said the company began working with health officials immediately after learning of the E.coli issue, and that the company was in the process of "sanitizing these isolated restaurants and replacing all the food ingredients."

Nassau officials said they received word from Taco Bell about 7:30 p.m. Monday that four stores in East Meadow, Hicksville, Hempstead and Roosevelt Field Mall, where the outbreak had been traced would close temporarily for disinfection and destruction of food. The chain did not say when the restaurants would close, said Joe Calderone, a spokesman for Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi.

"We heard from Taco Bell, who said they would close them," said Calderone. "They didn't say when. They said, 'later.'"

Several teenagers were still eating at the East Meadow location when a reporter visited at about 7:45 p.m., despite the small group of citizens standing outside, warning people to stay away.

"If it closed, I don't know what we'd do," said Dan Lebowitz, 18, of East Meadow, who was there with two friends.

At least four Suffolk County Taco Bell restaurants were closed by last night. Employees at the Patchogue location dumped bag after bag of tortillas and other food into a garbage bin. A manager there, talking on the phone with Taco Bell corporate headquarters, declined to comment.

Commack High School biology teacher James McCaughran, 57, had planned on a quick dinner at the Taco Bell in Port Jefferson Station. But the restaurant was closed, and inside employees could be seen scrubbing equipment.

Months earlier, McCaughran had taught his class about the E. coli outbreak in California's spinach supply this summer. Now, he said, he'll likely teach them about bacteria in fast food.

David Abut, 43, was bewildered to find the Taco Bell in Deer Park closed. Abut said he visits the restaurant at least once a week. "It's good, it's quick," he said. "I work in the city, so there's no cooking on weekdays." The disappointed Deer Park resident headed back to his car, in search of other means of sustenance. "I hope there's no E. coli in Chinese food," he said, before driving away.

E. coli outbreak in N.J. seems to have passed

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800

New Jersey’s top health official is describing a recent spate of E. coli sickness as “a serious outbreak,” but says the threat seems to have passed. At least three dozen people were stricken and apparently all the victms had eaten at Taco Bell restaurants.

“There has not been an outbreak since Nov. 29, so I think that whatever happened went through already,” Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs said Monday.
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Yum Brands Inc. Tuesday said the strain of E. coli that is suspected to have sickened the victims is no longer in any of its Taco Bell restaurants and that the restaurants that were closed due to the outbreak expect to reopen.

“The E. coli strain appears to have passed through our system,” Tim Jerzyk, Yum’s vice president of investor relations, said at a meeting with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday.

Jerzyk added that there was “no immediate threat to consumers today” and said the company is continuing to work with health officials.

E. coli is a bacteria that can cause severe stomach distress and is most often spread through contaminated food.

Searching for source
State medical officials in New Jersey and New York were working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to try to pinpoint what caused the outbreak that sickened at least 22 people in New Jersey two of them seriously and more than a dozen on Long Island.

“We have to find the food they all had in common,” said David Papi, director of health for Middlesex County.

Taco Bell E Coli Contamination Lawyer

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Lawyers Representing Victims of Taco Bell E Coli Contamination

On December 4, 2006, health investigators linked an E. coli outbreak that has sickened approximately twenty-two (22) people, two of them seriously to three Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey. Additionally, investigators have also been probing whether an outbreak of fourteen (14) cases on Long Island was linked to Taco Bell.

According to authorities, the individuals who became ill in New Jersey ate at one of the fast-food restaurants between Nov. 17 and Nov. 28, 2006. "We have to find the food they all had in common," said David Papi, director of health for Middlesex County. Five of the New Jersey sufferers were in the hospital, including two in serious or critical condition with hemolytic uremic syndrome which can permanently damage the kidneys, officials said. Twenty-two (22) of those infected in New Jersey, including two restaurant employees who tested positive for E. coli but did not get sick, ate at a Taco Bell in South Plainfield; another ate at a Taco Bell in Edison; and one ate at a Taco Bell in Franklin Township, authorities said.

On Long Island, the E. coli outbreak sickened at least 14 people, including 10 who ate at Taco Bell. Health officials said eight restaurants in Suffolk and Nassau Counties were closed as a precaution along with one restaurant in South Plainfield, New Jersey.

Most E. coli infections are associated with undercooked meat. The bacteria also can be found on sprouts or leafy vegetables such as spinach. Earlier this year, three people died and more than 200 fell ill from an outbreak that was traced to packaged spinach grown in California. The bacteria also can be passed from person to person if they do not thoroughly wash their hands after going to the bathroom.

Legal Help for Victims
If you or a loved recently ate at a Taco Bell and suffered E. coli contamination you may have valuable legal rights, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified attorney. Alternatively, call our toll free number: 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).