FreshPoint in Toronto has officially recalled the California-grown lettuce contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 that it distributed to KFC and Taco Bell restaurants in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. All the recalled lettuce went to the two fast food chains in Canada, and none was sold by… Continue Reading
Supply chain failures, first in China and now in Canada, might have Yum! Brands CEO David Novak singing that old Frank Sinatra song about “riding high in April, shot down in May.’” Novak, also a motivational speaker and author, was coming off a year that saw a book published not long after being named as… Continue Reading
At least 26 E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in northeastern Canada have now been linked to California-grown lettuce served at KFC and Taco Bell outlets, health officials say. Dr. Frank Atherton, Nova Scotia’s deputy chief medical officer, on Friday said health officials believe that is the “common source across three provinces” of the outbreak that sickened… Continue Reading
I personally had never heard of Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches until four years ago. Several University of Colorado sorority women were ill; specifically they were hurling like sailors getting off a winter patrol on the North Atlantic. I was asked to investigate. Since then I’ve been paying attention. Jimmy John’s is largely a franchise… Continue Reading
An Oklahoma woman has sued Taco Bell, alleging that contaminated food it served caused her to become very ill with Salmonella infection. The 22-year-old Cleveland County resident said in her complaint that she ate at a Taco Bell restaurant on Nov. 3, 2011. Two days later, on a Saturday, she began suffering from painful abdominal… Continue Reading
Does the CDC like tacos more than sandwiches? Or, is it hopefully something else? First, let’s be clear, confidential patient information should never be disclosed absent the patient agreeing to it. And, second, a report should not be issued if there is no outbreak linked to a product and/or manufacturer. However, once an outbreak is… Continue Reading
On Monday, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from Food Safety News, the Michigan Department of Community Health released documents again naming Taco Bell as the mystery Mexican-style fast food chain linked to an outbreak of Salmonella infection from October and November 2011. Michigan has become the second state to release documents implicating… Continue Reading
John Perkins, the long-time police chief of Pocatello, ID, taught me all I needed about the public’s right to know. When hired on after college at the Idaho State Journal, I inherited the police beat. It was usually the first beat assignment daily newspapers gave to rookie reporters who did not know anything. I knew… Continue Reading
On Wednesday, Food Safety News editor Dan Flynn broke news of the identity of “Restaurant Chain A” as Taco Bell in the 10-state outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis that sickened at least 68 individuals in October and November 2011. The disclosure came from officials at the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Acute Disease Service, who responded… Continue Reading
The Mexican-style fast food chain referred to only as “Restaurant Chain A” in a report on a 10-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is Taco Bell, Food Safety News has learned. While Taco Bell was suspected ever since the CDC’s outbreak report was issued on January 19,… Continue Reading
A Michigan man who became ill after eating beef tacos has filed suit against Yum Brands, Inc., parent company of Taco Bell and Chicago Diversified Foods Corporation, the franchisor of a Taco Bell restaurant. Gary Erdman is being represented by the Seattle-based food safety law firm Marler Clark and the Trenton-based law firm Counard &… Continue Reading