IRVINE, Calif. — Taco Bell Corp. announced that its restaurants are safe and that all ingredients have tested negative for E. coli 0157:H7, with the possible exception of green onions, which the company removed at all 5,800 restaurants this week.
According to a news release, independent scientific laboratory test results of more than 150 samples of all the ingredients served in Taco Bell restaurants concluded that no ingredient contained the E. coli bacteria.
Samples from the entire menu were collected for testing from multiple restaurants in multiple states for testing by Certified Laboratories in Plainview, N.Y. Preliminary test results of green onions were "presumptive positive" for E. coli, which prompted the company to immediately remove them from its restaurants as a precautionary move. Taco bell has no plans to sell green onions again.
"We've taken this health issue very seriously and are extremely concerned for all those who are ill. Our company has moved quickly to safeguard the health of our customers and employees," 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 and strict standards are being upheld at all of our restaurants. We will be working quickly to reopen our closed restaurants to serve our customers."
The company also switched produce suppliers in the region even though it has no indication they were associated with the illness. "We are not willing to take any risk with the public's safety," Creed said.
The FDA and CDC are continuing their investigation and Taco Bell will continue to fully cooperate.
"After removing green onions from our restaurants, we believe that all of our other ingredients are perfectly safe based on our test results. We've been working around the clock, 24/7, with the FDA, CDC and local, state and federal health authorities to get to the root cause of this issue. It's important to note that about half of the U.S. adult population eats at Taco Bell at least once a month, so it's easy to understand how we might be considered associated with this illness," Creed said.
Last Thursday, the company learned of the first illness possibly linked to its restaurants. The company took immediate action, including voluntarily closing several restaurants in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, re-sanitizing them and restocking them with a fresh food supply.
"Given several E. coli outbreaks linked to produce in recent years, we believe there's a need for thorough review of the produce supply system in our country today. We need to review whether there should be better controls across the entire industry to assure safety at the farm level so that consumers know that their produce is perfectly safe – no matter where they purchase it – in a restaurant, supermarket or farm stand," Creed said. "Taco Bell is committed to supporting an industry coalition including government regulators, competitors, suppliers, and other experts so we can develop improved guidelines and procedures to safeguard the produce supply chain and public health."
