Taco Bell Linked To Salmonella Probe after 68 People Fall Ill in 10 States, Report Says

IRVINE, Calif. - Yum Brands Inc.'s Taco Bell chain was investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for involvement in a salmonella outbreak that sickened 68 people in 10 states, Food Safety News reported Wednesday.

Citing a document from Oklahoma health authorities, the online newspaper -- published by Seattle-based law firm Marler Clark -- reported that the CDC revealed on Jan. 19 that a Mexican-style fast food chain was linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis, but declined to name the company because it felt there was no public health reason to.

Food Safety News said a document from the Oklahoma State Department of Health's Acute Disease Service identified the restaurant chain as Taco Bell.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Taco Bell, which has more than 5,800 restaurants in the US, said the source of the food-borne illness that occurred in October and November of 2011 had not been identified by the CDC, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

"The CDC has stated the public health is not at any risk, and this incident is completely over," Taco Bell said in an emailed statement.

"The CDC indicated that some of the people who were ill ate at Taco Bell, while others did not. They believe that the problem likely occurred at the supplier level before it was delivered to any restaurant or food outlet. We take food quality and safety very seriously," the statement from the company, based in Irvine, Calif., added.

Oklahoma had the second-largest number of patients in the outbreak, behind Texas.

The number of ill persons identified in each state with the outbreak strain was Texas (43), Oklahoma (16), Kansas (2), Iowa (1), Michigan (1), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (1), Ohio (1), and Tennessee (1).

Read more: foodsafetynews.com