"outbreak" news and stories

It has not been a good couple of weeks in terms of the number of people stricken with food-borne illnesses, even though the Taco Bell incident is officially over. There has been another E. coli outbreak, this time at an Indianapolis Olive Garden. Over 300 people, at least three of whom have been hospitalized, have been exhibiting the classic flu-like symptoms associated with E. coli, including "nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and in some cases fever." All of those afflicted ate that the restaurant (in the northwest part of the city) between December 9 and December 13.

It seems that the problem was first noticed after several employees became ill on Monday. The cause has not yet been identified, but the restaurant has been closed for the moment while an investigation is carried out.

It does seem likely that some kind of vegetable is the cause if previous outbreaks are any indication, but it is worth noting that there is no reason to suspect that this is related to either the spinach or scallion incidents.

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After green onions were identified as the source of contamination for an E. coli outbreak at several East Coast Taco Bells, the company not only recalled all the scallions at its 5,800 locations nationwide, but sent out samples of the rest of their food products for testing to ensure that no other foods were at risk. The tests have come back negative, leaving the green onions as the sole source for the bacteria.

Taco Bell has switched produce suppliers, but with 61 cases identified, including 48 hospitalizations and 7 cases of kidney failure, the company is not out of the woods yet. Lawsuits are already being filed on behalf of some of those who were victims of the contamination, and because most chain restaurants have indemnity agreements with their suppliers, the company will be the one held accountable in these cases.

The company is working to sanitize and reopen stores that closed as a result of the outbreak.

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Taco Bell has decided to recall all the green onions from all of its 5,800 locations in the US after an outbreak of at least 43 cases of E. coli infections in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania last week. Testing revealed that they were a possible source of the bacteria, although other non-meat sources have not been ruled out yet. Samples of the cilantro, cheddar cheese, blended cheese, yellow onions, tomatoes and lettuce are being sent to FDA labs for testing and comparison to the green onion samples. The states were the infections occurred will be testing their own samples, and Taco Bell is likely to have scientists at work on their behalf, as well. The sources for the potentially contaminated foods are still being identified, but consumers (unless you just ate at a Taco Bell despite the potential health risk) should not worry too much about it because suppliers for large buyers such as Taco Bell rarely sell directly to supermarkets.

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