By: Vic Monaco, Managing Editor; and Stephanie Prokop, Staff Writer
EAST WINDSOR The Taco Bell restaurant on Princeton-Hightstown Road reopened late Sunday after a voluntary shutdown in the wake of the E. coli scare at Taco Bells across the country, according to Mayor Janice Mironov.
"Our health officer, Jeff Plunkett, reached out to them Thursday evening (Dec. 7) and they voluntarily closed down," the mayor said this week.
"They destroyed all their food products and fully sanitized the premises under the supervision of the health officer."
A manager at the local restaurant would only say, "We had to do a detailed cleaning."
Taco Bell spokesman Will Bortz said Wednesday that about 40 restaurants had closed across the state and all but four had reopened.
Meanwhile , the ReadyPac Produce packaging plant in Florence stopped processing green onions, which had been thought to be the cause of the E. coli outbreak. But the federal Food and Drug Administration announced this week that the vegetable might not be responsible after all.
Green onions had been produced in a limited production run exclusively for Taco Bell in one section of the ReadyPac Florence plant.
The U.S. FDA Web site stated this week that Taco Bell Corp. was voluntarily removing green onions from its restaurants nationwide after preliminary tests by the firm indicated the possible presence of the E. coli strain O157:H7 in samples of the product, but that more sophisticated tests conducted by the FDA tested negative for the dangerous E. coli strain. The Web site went on to say the CDC study is demonstrating that onions are probably not linked to this outbreak but have not been ruled out.
The FDA was obtaining samples of all non-meat items served in the restaurants that could carry the pathogen. These include cilantro, cheddar cheese, blended cheese, green onions, yellow onions, tomatoes and lettuce.
"Even though the test results are not confirmed, we have taken every prudent precaution and immediately stopped production and shipments of all green onions," said Steve Dickstein, vice president of marketing for ReadyPac in a written statement. He added, "All raw and processed green onions have been removed from the plant as part of our precautionary measures."
According to a press release, ReadyPac Produce is cooperating with the FDA and local health officials, who visited the packaging plant on Dec. 6.
ReadyPac stated that the company "purchases green onions from a reputable grower equally committed to food safety."
Green onions are not used in any other product ReadyPac sells to food service restaurants or for retail product distribution. According to the California-based company’s Web site, the Florence factory had temporarily stopped shipments of green onions.
The plant receives agricultural commodities such as lettuce, tomatoes and onion which it is responsible for cleaning, inspecting, packaging and shipping, said Mr. Dickstein in a previous statement in September, when the plant temporarily stopped production and distribution of spinach due to contamination fears.
Only the green onion line of packaging was affected, as the release stated that the rest of the plant is running normally. The Florence plant helps produce many of the 30 various bagged salads ReadyPac sells under its own name under assorted store brands. The company also sells cut fruits and vegetables, pico de gallo and bruschetta.
