Northeastern U.S.A.
The illness toll from an outbreak of E. coli infections in the Northeast hit 400 this week, but officials remained baffled about the cause. Most of the cases were linked to Taco Bell restaurants, and the company last week announced that independent testing pinpointed California scallions as the source of the bacteria that sickened people in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that its tests ruled out onions as the culprit, and that the source could be any number of ingredients used by Taco Bell. Still, Taco Bell has stopped serving scallions and has lined up a new onion supplier. "All Taco Bell food is safe," said company president Greg Creed. The outbreak has sparked widespread calls to overhaul the U.S. food-inspection system. Symptoms of E. coli infection include severe cramping, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
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