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In Wake Of Scare, Brick Taco Bell Ready To Serve
By Catherine Snipe
The Taco Bell in Brick is open now that all locations threw out their green onions this week.
Taco Bells in Middlesex county became the possible epicenter for a minor E.coli outbreak there in November. No Ocean County locations were linked to the E.coli cases, according to health officials.
A manager from the Brick location confirmed the restaurant was open and referred additional questions to the company's media relations to learn more about the locations under review.
Taco Bell Corp. announced Wednesday that it has removed green onions from all of its approximately 5,800 restaurants nationwide. The move is strictly a precautionary effort following recent E.coli 0157:H7 outbreaks believed to be linked to several of its restaurants in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
"In an abundance of caution, we've decided to pull all green onions from our restaurants until we know conclusively whether they are the cause of the E.coli outbreak," said Greg Creed, Taco Bell President in a prepared statement. "Taco Bell's first concern is the health and safety of our customers and employees. We have been working closely with state health authorities to establish the root cause of this issue. Based on the preliminary test results we received late last night, the company did not want to wait and took immediate action to safeguard public health."
Creed went on to say the restaurants in question appear to be rid of the infection, citing no new cases discovered after November 29.
The company is working with State and County Health Department officials in these three states, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration, to determine the root cause of this issue.
Three samples of green onions from Taco Bell were found to be presumptive positive for E. coli 0157:H7 by an independent testing laboratory engaged by the corporation. Taco Bell, which is based in California, released a statement saying the tests are preliminary and not yet conclusive in its findings.
The location in South Plainfield, Middlesex County, closed earlier and has since reopened.
Taco Bell established a telephone number, 1-800-TACO BELL, for those with concerns about the outbreak.
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