Onions pulled from Taco Bell's menu

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Tweet A local Taco Bell restaurant has pulled green onions from its orders, following a national repeal stemming from an E. coli outbreak reported by nearly three dozen people in three states.

The restaurant, 601 E. Grand River Ave., was not serving green onions Wednesday. Employees declined to comment on the outbreak, citing directions from a memo distributed by Taco Bell's corporate headquarters.

Samples from three green onions contained strains of E. coli after preliminary testing.

"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.

A message left with the company in regard to where the green onions came from was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Megan Cashen, a history senior eating at the Taco Bell on Grand River Avenue, said she's relieved the onions were recalled and not served with her food.

"I'm surprised I did not hear about it," she said. "I really like green onions, but I'd rather have them err on the side of caution."

Another customer, journalism sophomore Franne Goodson, said E. coli outbreaks seem to be commonplace this year.

"It's kind of like the spinach thing," she said, adding that this recall wasn't as severe.

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.

Taco Bell said preliminary testing by an independent lab found three samples of green onions appeared to have a harsh strain of the bacteria. The fast-food chain said the tests are not conclusive but that it immediately notified health authorities and its restaurants while it awaits a final analysis.

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.

Meanwhile, the company that distributes food to the region's Taco Bells said federal investigators planned to test five produce items — green onions, regular onions, cilantro, tomatoes and lettuce — from its southern New Jersey warehouse.

Health officials have yet 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, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage.

Health inspectors also visited a food distribution center in Burlington, N.J., that supplied some of the restaurants serving the contaminated food on Tuesday.

Bart McKay, a lawyer for Texas-based McLane Co., which owns the distribution center, said items were selected for federal investigators to test.

McKay said the federal investigators were to pick up samples of green onions, regular onions, cilantro, tomatoes and lettuce. No meat samples were requested, he said.

"By all appearances, the focus seems to be on one or more produce supplies," McKay said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Kris Turner can be reached at turne112@msu.edu.

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