By
MAE ANDERSON and MICHELLE CHAPMAN
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
Big U.S. restaurant chains don’t get linked to foodborne illness outbreaks often, but the number of meals they serve causes a lot of concern when contamination of some kind sickens customers
Federal health officials identified iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in five states as acyclospora. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation identified a single supplier as the
Taco Bell issued a statement on Thursday saying that “the affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.” The company described the move as precautionary
A federal official who was briefed on the outbreak investigation and not authorized to discuss it identified the supplier as Taylor Farms, a company based in Salinas, California, that produces fresh vegetables for commercial use and meal kits and bagged lettuce products sold at supermarkets
Federal health officials stressed that other “brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” could be identified as the investigation continues
Here’s a brief history of some other recent outbreaks that roiled restaurant companies and sometimes changed how food safety is regulated in the U.S
Taylor Farms provided onions implicated in an outbreak linked to McDonald’s hamburgers
E. coli bacteria caused a 2024 food poisoning outbreak tied to raw onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers. The outbreak sickened at least 104 people in 14 states, including 34 who were hospitalized, according to the FDA. One person in Colorado died
McDonald’s said the onions came from Taylor Farms and temporarily pulled the Quarter Pounder off its menu in the affected states. Other national restaurant chains temporarily stopped using fresh onions in some of their locations
Likely E. coli contamination gets lettuce pulled from Wendy’s sandwiches
Wendy’s pulled lettuce from sandwiches in its restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in August 2022 after some people reported falling ill
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at the time that it was trying to determine whether romaine lettuce was thewhether romaine used at Wendy’s was also served or sold at other businesses
One person was also sickened in Indiana, according to the CDC
Extensive E. coli outbreak at Chipotle leads to criminal charges
In 2015, Chipotle was hit by an E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 50 people and it temporarily shut down dozens of restaurants on the West Coast, but that was just the beginning. A month later, 30 Boston College students, including at least eight members of the men’s basketball team, complained of gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at a Chipotle restaurant
Federal officials declared the outbreak over by February 2016, but the chain shut down every one of its restaurants to retrain employees and allow them to regroup
In 2020 Chipotle Mexican Grille agreed to pay a record $25 million fine to resolve criminal charges that it served tainted food that sickened more than 1,100 people in the U.S. between 2015 and 2018
The company admitted that poor safety practices, such as not keeping food at proper temperatures to prevent pathogen growth, sickened customers in Los Angeles and nearby Simi Valley, as well as Boston, Sterling, Virginia, and Powell, Ohio
Taco Bell removes green onions nationwide after an E. coli outbreak sickens dozens
In December 2006, Taco Bell ordered the removal of green onions from its 5,800 restaurants nationwide after samples taken by investigators appeared to contain a harsh strain of E. coli. The outbreak sickened at least 71 people in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, with most of them hospitalized, according to the CDC
Eight people developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic-uremic syndrome
Eventually, it was determined that contaminated lettuce was the probable cause, with the vegetable used in numerous dishes on the menu
Almost immediately, Taco Bell launched a newspaper ad blitz and sent its president on a string of media interviews to assure customers that its food was safe
Deadly outbreak traced to Jack in the Box hamburgers leads to regulatory changes
Four deaths and more than 700 illnesses in Washington, Idaho, California, and Nevada between 1992 and 1993 eventually were traced to undercooked Jack in the Box restaurant hamburgers contaminated with E. coli
The ensuing investigation by federal regulators changed regulatory practices in the U.S., experts say
An investigation by the CDC identified five slaughter plants in the U.S. and one in Canada as the likelyified potential control points for reducing the likelihood of contamination. The animals slaughtered in domestic slaughter plants were traced to farms and auctions in six western states. No one slaughter plant or farm was identified as the source
The U.S. Department of Agriculture mandated a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system, which helps identify and control hazards within the system of food production. The system provided for more monitoring and controls to rapidly limit the spread of outbreaks
Jack in the Box lost more than $44 million in 1993 and did not post another annual profit for another three years
MAE ANDERSON
