If you're thinking of making a run for the border, you might want to hold your horses, and hold off on that Crunchwrap Supreme. These recalls could have you saying no quiero Taco Bell.
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00:00If you're thinking of making a run for the border, you might want to hold your horses
00:04and hold off on that Crunchwrap Supreme. These recalls could have you saying No Kiro Taco
00:10Bell.
00:11Taco Bell became embroiled in one of the biggest food recalls of 2024 after a supply of onions
00:16was tied to a number of E. coli infections. It all began when McDonald's customers who
00:21had consumed the chain's Quarter Pounders began to fall ill. After the onion supplier
00:25Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall, McDonald's pulled its slivered onions from the menu
00:30as a precaution. As did Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, and Taco Bell.
00:35A couple of weeks later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deemed the outbreak
00:39to be over. Tragically, 104 people had gotten sick in 14 states, and one person died.
00:46I actually felt like I was dying at first."
00:49At the end of the ordeal, it turned out that nearly all of the cases had been related to
00:53food served at McDonald's, meaning Taco Bell got off relatively lightly on this one.
00:58In 2019, Taco Bell recalled around 2.3 million pounds of its seasoned beef due to contamination.
01:05The chain decided to issue the recall after a customer found a piece of metal in their
01:08food.
01:09It makes me very concerned about what I'm about to eat, maybe. It makes me want to take
01:14it back, actually. I don't need to get sick."
01:16Notably, it was a voluntary recall, and there were no reports of anyone having adverse reactions
01:21related to the incident. That said, reports of Taco Bell locations running out of beef
01:26or pulling it from the menu due to quality concerns started swirling before the recall
01:30was officially announced, leaving a lot of customers speculating about what was really
01:35going on. Taco Bell was quick to respond, saying,
01:38"...nothing is more important than our customers' safety, and nothing means more to us than
01:42their trust."
01:44In late 2012 and early 2013, Taco Bell's lettuce was implicated in an E. coli outbreak that
01:49made 30 people sick in Canada. The affected areas included Nova Scotia, Ontario, and New
01:56Brunswick. A subsequent investigation determined that the lettuce had initially come from California.
02:01However, distributed by Fresh Point, the tainted product was largely linked to KFC and KFC
02:07Taco Bell outlets. A recall was issued to be on the safe side, although by then, the
02:12lettuce might have been consumed or removed from circulation due to its short shelf life.
02:17Healthy vegetables such as lettuce are particularly susceptible to E. coli because the soil they're
02:21grown in is more likely to be exposed to sources of contamination, like animal feces or tainted
02:27water.
02:28"...if you have just one of those tiny little pieces with a million bacteria per gram on
02:31there, you've got a serious problem."
02:33Adding to the risk, these veggies are typically not cooked, so it's less likely the bacteria
02:38will be killed before being consumed.
02:41In 2006, at least 71 people became sick with E. coli after eating at Taco Bell locations
02:47in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. An investigation was quickly launched
02:52to find the culprit. After three samples returned presumptive positive for the bacteria, the
02:57chain pulled green onions from all locations. In this case, most of the victims were hospitalized,
03:03and some even experienced kidney failure.
03:06Meanwhile, Taco Bell closed and sanitized multiple restaurants. About a week later,
03:11however, the investigation found that lettuce had probably been the true source of the bacteria.
03:17As a result, the chain changed its supplier for that ingredient.
03:20In the end, the incident cost Taco Bell $20 million, and that wasn't the end of it, either.
03:25Boscovich Farms, which had grown the green onions in question, sued Taco Bell in 2007.
03:31The suit alleged that Taco Bell had continued to link the onions to the outbreak even after
03:35they were ruled out. The farm claimed it lost millions of dollars' worth of business
03:39as a result. The dispute landed in arbitration and went on for years. Before an arbitration
03:44panel dismissed Boscovich Farms' claims.
03:48Back in 2000, Taco Bell got wrapped up in the very first food recall related to genetically
03:53engineered ingredients. Taco shells, distributed in stores by Kraft Foods under the Taco Bell
03:59brand, were pulled from shelves because they contained Starlink corn, which had only been
04:03approved for animal consumption. The GMO corn contained a protein called Cry9C, which
04:08raised concerns about potential allergic reactions for some consumers. Taco Bell didn't actually
04:14produce these taco shells, but out of an abundance of caution, the chain began replacing the
04:18taco shells in its restaurants in case they had been affected.
04:22No adverse reactions were reported, and it's not certain if these GMO taco shells were
04:26even harmful to humans. Regardless, the Starlink corn had not been tested thoroughly enough
04:32to deem it safe for human consumption, so the shells had to be sacked.