HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY HERE ON THE FN BLOGSTREAM TO MEEEEE!!!!!!BC AND ITS BEEN A GAS GETTING TO KNOW YA!with one exception that will not be considered..hehe

Yeah Boyeeeeeee!!! BC PS: Bing will be back!!!

Wed Dec 6, 2006 10:45 AM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fast food chain Taco Bell said on Wednesday it has stopped serving green onions at its roughly 5,800 restaurants following a recent outbreak of the foodborne E. coli bacteria that caused it to temporarily close nine restaurants.

Taco Bell, a unit of Yum Brands Inc., said preliminary tests showed three samples of green onions were found to be "presumptive positive" for the E. coli 0157:H7 strain. Tests were not yet conclusive, the company said.

That strain of E. coli causes an estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 60 deaths in the United States each year.

The tests were conducted by an independent laboratory hired by Taco Bell, the company said. State health officials are conducting their own testing.

Taco Bell had closed eight restaurants on Long Island, New York, and one in New Jersey after a suspected E.coli outbreak that may have sickened more than 50 people in three states. Health officials in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were investigating E.coli cases in people who had eaten at Taco Bell, though a source had not been determined.

The company said on Tuesday the eight New York restaurants were set to reopen and that it also hoped to reopen the New Jersey restaurant that day. A spokesman could not be reached Wednesday.

Green onions have been linked to foodborne illness at restaurants in the past. In 2003, casual dining chain O'Charley's Inc. said about 77 people contracted the Hepatitis A virus, which was traced to contaminated green onions.

Analysts said on Tuesday that any impact on Yum financial results was likely to be fleeting and the stock rallied almost 3 percent on Tuesday, when the company said it would double its cash dividend.

The stock was down 73 cents at $62.53 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Well I guess green onions are off my menu...FOREVER! BC Like chemical fertilizers and residual pesticides were not enough to put me off fresh produce.Imported produce is even worse because the chemical pesticides are not banned there and are still in use...that's why the goods are so pretty.take vitamins and eat canned fruit I will!

Taco Bell reopens 8 New York restaurants
Tue Dec 5, 2006 1:00 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Taco Bell, a division of Yum Brands Inc., said on Tuesday that it will reopen eight restaurants in New York's Suffolk and Nassau counties voluntarily closed on Sunday as a precautionary measure against a suspected outbreak of food borne illness E. coli.
Had to post the re-opening out of fairness...I do like me some tacos and chalupas on occasion...Si Si mofo!! lol..TCBS BC

Taco Bell closes 4 outlets in E.coli scare
Mon Dec 4, 2006 6:40 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Taco Bell has closed four restaurants in New York as a precautionary measure after a suspected E.coli outbreak at one of its New Jersey outlets sickened nearly a dozen people, the Yum Brand Inc. unit said on Monday.

The company said health officials have indicated there was no immediate threat and no new cases since November 29. Taco Bell said it was sanitizing the restaurants and replacing all the food ingredients before reopening the fast-food outlets.

On Sunday Taco Bell said it had closed a restaurant in New Jersey and was working with health officials seeking the cause of an E.coli outbreak. The source was not determined but a Taco Bell restaurant where nine of the victims ate was suspected.

Disclaimer...regardless of the bad comedy, food poisoning can kill, so be careful out there! TCBS BC