Hold the (Green) Onions

Yesterday, Taco Bell Corp. pulled scallions from each of its 5,800 restaurants pending more formal tests on the vegetables, which have been tentatively linked to recent outbreaks of E coli. Three samples of the chain’s green onions tested positive at an independent lab for E coli O157:H7, a powerful form of the virus which has been linked to factory-farmed, grain-raised cows. At least 46 confirmed cases of E coli sickness have been linked to Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania in the last few weeks.

This recent outbreak follows September’s nation-wide outbreak linked to contaminated spinach. These cases differ from meat-related E coli because unlike meat products, many fresh vegetables are served raw, making it difficult to remove bacteria. We blogged about the spinach case back in September and pointed to problems with an increasingly centralized food production system, which not only leaves huge numbers of people vulnerable to viruses such as E coli, but also makes us vulnerable to “agroterrorism,” or intentional contamination of food supplies.

Our answer? You guessed it. Buy local from small family farms. Visit the Eat Well Guide to find small farms, co-ops and restaurants that serve sustainable food in your neighborhood. Read more about infectious disease transmission on the Sustainable Table Issues pages.