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Salmonella strain that sickened 109 people, including a man who died, was initially identified only as "strain X" by the CDC.
When government health officials wrapped up a three-month investigation of a salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that sickened 68 people in 10 states, the final report on Jan. 19 included nearly every detail -- except the name of the place that sold the food.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refused to identify the source, other than as “Restaurant Chain A,” a Mexican-style fast-food chain.
That’s the second time in a little more than a year that the agency has masked the source of foodborne illness at a similar chain. In August 2010, a final CDC report found that 155 people in 21 states were sickened by two rare strains of salmonella traced to an anonymous Mexican-style fast-food chain eventually identified as Taco Bell.
Two other recent outbreaks with initially hidden sources -- laboratory-supplied salmonella Typhimuirium identified only as “strain X,” and an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in romaine lettuce from “grocery store Chain A” -- have spurred new scrutiny of the agency’s willingness to keep the entities behind some infectious outbreaks secret.
Food safety advocates say the practice keeps the public in the dark about which firms have been linked to illness.
“It will eventually come out and it will be the company that looks bad,” said Doug Powell, a professor of food safety at Kansas State University and author of a food safety blog. “A lot of these problems could be reduced if government agencies were more transparent about how they decide when to go public.”
Dr. Robert Tauxe, a top CDC official, defended the agency’s practice of withholding company identities, which he said aims to protect not only public health, but also the bottom line of businesses that could be hurt by bad publicity. The CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and state health departments often identify companies responsible for outbreaks, but sometimes do not.
“The longstanding policy is we publicly identify a company only when people can use that information to take specific action to protect their health,” said Tauxe, the CDC’s deputy director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases.
“On the other hand, if there’s not an important public health reason to use the name publicly, CDC doesn’t use the name publicly.”
Because companies supply vital information about outbreaks voluntarily, CDC seeks to preserve cordial relationships.
“We don’t want to compromise that cooperation we’ll need,” Tauxe said.
But critics such as Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer, say that the government owes the public early and full disclosure during illness outbreaks.
“In today’s society, where transparency is so important for decision-making, I just don’t think government has the right to withhold that information from the public,” said Marler, who has pushed hard for the CDC to identify the firm behind the latest outbreak.
He all but outed Taco Bell in a blog post late Monday that chronicled in which states with illnesses certain Mexican fast-food chains operate.
If Taco Bell were indeed the entity involved in the latest outbreak, the information would allow consumers to decide whether they wanted to continue eating at a fast-food chain implicated in similar outbreaks in 2006 and 2010, Marler said.
In 2010, the CDC withheld the identity of the Mexican-style “Restaurant Chain A.” But when the name was released in error to media outlets, the CDC confirmed it, said Lola Russell, an agency spokeswoman.
The agency has not confirmed that the “Restaurant Chain A” in the 2010 outbreak is the same as in the 2011 incident, and they will not comment on whether it’s Taco Bell, Russell said.
Officials with two other Mexican-style fast-food restaurant chains with sites in the affected states, Qdoba and Chipotle Mexican Grill, told msnbc.com they were not questioned in connection with the outbreak.
Taco Bell officials did not return calls or e-mails from msnbc.com seeking comment.
In the case of the outbreak of commercially produced salmonella Typhimurium that sickened 109 people between August 2010 and June 2011, including one man who died, the CDC withheld the specific strain that caused the illnesses. The victims of "strain X" were mostly clinical and teaching microbiology lab students and their families, but they could have spread the germs to the general public on contaminated lab coats and cells phones, investigators suggested. It was those lapses in lab practice, not the particular strain of bacteria, that caused most concern, officials said.
“In that case, we don’t think that one salmonella is a lot different from another salmonella,” Tauxe said. “The concern is not the strain, it’s what are the safety procedures and practices they use in the laboratory.”
The trouble, say food safety advocates, is that it’s not clear when or why CDC officials decide to withhold the identity of firms involved in outbreaks and when they decide to go public.
"No one is happy, and that's largely because there are no guidelines people can at least point to, whether they agree with the guidance or no," Powell said.
Tauxe acknowledged there’s no written policy or checklist that governs that decision, only decades of precedent.
“It’s a case-by-case thing and all the way back, as far as people can remember, there’s discussions of ‘hotel X’ or ‘cruise ship Y,” he said.
That just doesn’t pass muster, said Marler and other critics.
“If the CDC has a good, rational reason for doing what they’re doing, fine,” he said. “Then write it down and hold it up for people like you and I to scrutinize.”
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Microbiology labs linked to nationwide salmonella outbreak
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“The longstanding policy is we publicly identify a company only when people can use that information to take specific action to protect their health,” said Tauxe, the CDC’s deputy director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases.
So telling the public the name of the restaurant in this case would NOT be used by the public to take the specific action of avoiding eating there, thus protecting their health????? That makes sense. I wonder how much it costs to remain anonymous after causing a deadly outbreak of disease.
My question IS "Why is this NOT a matter of public record"??? It should be.
Here's how I handled this information: I stopped going to ALL Mexican fast-food restaurants until they tell me. And I did frequent one weekly. There are plenty of other choices, and these outbreaks do seem to be more frequent in Mexican restaurants.
Taco Bell is Mexican food ? Come on, they are not serious are they ?
This is a form of FASCISM. Government, the regulator, is never supposed to need to rely upon CO-OPERATION from the corporations which they regulate and inspect. If a company wishes to interfere with an investigation they should expect to have their certification to continue operating pulled. It's that simple.
It's "Mexican-style" fast food, according to the report.
Maybe the senate should also ban taking hush money
It does say Mexican-Type food....not Mexican food
Welcome to Taco Bell may we take your order?
Well CS949, Taco Bell would qualify then right???
Meat scraps and neutria, YUM, YUM!!!
I think you need to look at whether the outbreak was caused by the restaurant chain or due to one of their suppliers. Should a restaurant chain have it's reputation damaged because one of their supplier provided them with contaminated product??? If it is poor food handling procedures at the restaurant chain that caused the outbreak, I say identify them. If they have essentially been victimized by a supplier, it is the supplier that should be identified, not the restaurant chain. The chain may very well have dropped that supplier to address the cause, so why scare people away from the restaurant. In the end, it is the company responsible that deserves to take the heat, not others who have inadvertently been involved through no improper actions of their own.
Yes you are correct that the supplier needs to be identified, but so should all companies that get that product so people can make informed choices if they want to gamble with thier health. By hidining the names of companies that buy the infected product the people can not force the companies to change vendors, or improve internal inspections and accountability. As soon as there is any tests showing issues the government should issue very public warnings.
JS in SD: Why not be responsible and buy products from a reputable distributor and if something goes wrong it doesn't matter if your name gets tossed out. You get what you pay for.... Most of these so called food places use products that resemble food.....
Since it seems to be the case that sharing some information with the public makes it harder for the CDC to GET the information, next time, I'm in favor of letting them decide when and if to release it. If it was the FDA, I might have a different take, but this is medical data, and epidemiology is hard enough as it is.
Taco Bell is to Mexican what McDonald's is to real hamburgers.
Thanks JS for an intelligent answer. Many restaurants receive good that are supposedly ready to serve, to identify the restaurant rather than the actual source is a dis-service to the restaurant. As for reputable distributors, this is a very large industry, so large many large restaurant chains actually collect the food stuffs used at their restaurants and assemble truckloads delivered by their drivers. It is not a simple from the field to the serving plate.
In a related note, the Publics ability to make good decisions has not been all that great as of late, why give information that will be used incorrectly by the same Public?
You all do get that they are talking about a 2010 outbreak, right?
We are in 2012.
So do you all have time machines and plan on going back to 2010 and then eating at Taco Bell?
Knowing the name of the source is important public information if it is actionable information. It was actionable in 2010, not over a year later when the CDC report came out.
The reason Mexican food has these outbreaks, is because of the fresh vegetables used. Tomatoes, cilantro, onions, lettuce, peppers, avocado - these are usually/frequently uncooked. And in other kinds of restaurants, the salad is typically the cause of the problem.
One other huge thing to remember: Taco Bell sells hundreds of millions of meals a year. You have got to expect some diseases to go through there. But it is generally safer than the food in the grocery store that you cook at home. Plenty of people get sick at home from their own food, but it doesn't make the news or a class action lawsuit.
Good point JS. The problem I have with the case of the Mystery Mexican restaurant,is that if this is multiple times they have had issues,then something is very wrong in Taco Land and the public should be informed exactly what the problem is.
Up Uranus: excellent response. :D)
I don't care if it is a dis-service to the restaurant!! People are DYING HELLO.
Ryan is correct.
TXHorseman - Do you remember the bad spinach outbreak a few years ago?
Near here a driver with an 18 wheeler full of spinach dumped his cargo on the side of a bayou. There were only cows around to witness it - except for one watchful rancher.
When the police caught him they charged him with DUMPING TOXIC WASTE.
Of course the water in the bayou had all sorts of nasty bacteria, and the ground under the spinach was covered with cow patties (even more bad bacteria) - so I thought it was a little bit much to call it Toxic Waste. I'm pretty sure real toxic waste CAN hurt you even by just touching it. The spinach had bacteria, but it could only hurt you if you ate it raw. Not exactly the definition of toxic waste I use. By that definition, people and animals produce toxic waste everyday. Some more regularly than others depending on how much fiber you get.
And speaking of that, here's a trivia question:
There is only one creature that can produce another animal's waste, what is it?
A Human Politician can produce large amounts of Bull S#!+.
After 6 years in the military, I'm pretty sure I've been exposed to it all, and built up an immunity. I'm going to taco bell for dinner.
You can get food borne illness from just about any place, but there will probably be far more cases associated with large chains using a common supply, than the neighborhood burger shack.
Places like a Taco Bell that uses a lot of raw stuff like tomatoes and lettuce are going to be more likely to be sources for things like salmonella than other businesses that primarily serve fully cooked food products. To some extent it is the nature of the beast. However, big chains also tend to have big supplier contracts. So if a given supplier has issues, their products could see very widespread distribution through chain food business they supply. I suspect too that when very large contracts are involved, there is a strong motivation that revolves around pricing. That can easily lead to cutting corners somewhere.
When the local Joe's burger shack sells some tainted food, the cases are more likely to be contained within a local region. Chains are often involved in nationwide outbreaks. When something like this hits a small local business, it is far easier to track down the source. Now the supplier may service more individual businesses, but that too helps in tracking down the source. A few businesses who have the same supplier of tomatoes makes things pretty clear as to where it came from. A large supplier servicing very large contracts can easily have many sub suppliers and many an innocent party can get caught up in the investigation.
Wide spread outbreaks also present another issue in that when the particular problem illness is transmittable from individual to individual, an outbreak can become exponential pretty quickly.
Personally, I think one is better off frequenting the small local resturaunts for the above reasons as well as the fact that the large chains are more likely to use a lot of food additives, preservatives and other such stuff that may not be all that good for you. Distribution logistics can have an impact on freshness so preservative chemicals and techniques are used to combat that. Also, with big chains, they have a desire to provide very consistent taste from one outlet to another. That is often accomplished through a formulated cocktail of food additives. From a corporate chain standpoint, a pizza in LA should taste the same as one in Tampa when it comes from the same chain. But the local pizza guy wants his pizza to have its own unique taste that is different from the guy two blocks down.
There is some merit to buying a Taco Bell beef burrito, because you know it will taste just like the last one you had there even if the stores are a thousand miles apart. If you buy from the local Greasy Spoon, who knows what you will get. But it's entirely possible and maybe even probable that it will be healthier and safer. The chains do offer consistency, but often that is consistently mediocre. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and we can chose to be like commercial raised chickens eating a very specifically designed chicken feed or we can wonder the barnyard and get a variety of tastes and nutrition.
If the CDC releases the name of these companies and the public chooses not to go there anymore sobeit, perhaps all restaurants will then become more conscientious about what and how they are handling their food. CDC is more concerned about these companies voluntarily reporting a problem, if faced with going out of busines, than taking corrective action. There should be a penalty imposed if they don't report and enough people report where they they ate. Careless handling/porcessing by suppliers is probably as likely as the restaurant itself. Our illustrious FDA/USDA only inspect about 2% of imported food products, so chances are these problems will probaly get worse. Congress would rather spend money on military hardware than public safety which doesn't help matters.
Is there any way of determining which of the fast food 'joints' are heavily invested in by our Congress-people?
Probably a complicated issue. If there aren't enough warnings and time to correct there probably will be law suits and inevitably one of those inspectors will have done it wrong and the tax payers will pay out giant settlements for damage done.
It is always a give-take balance. Maybe it is unbalanced but make it to easy to crush a business and tax revenues decline and jobs are lost. Probably full disclosures will be made mandatory eventually and then there will be complaints and lost businesses and then the feds will change inspection protocols to only cite when it is super bad resulting in a net effect of lowered safety overall.
Not that I'm jaded, or anything.
It was between August of 2010 and June of 2011. If it was the supplier, it sure took long enough to stop using them, in the meantime, 109 people who should have known that Taco Bell had an outbreak, continued to eat there and got sick. Come on, 10 months without identifying the restaurant? Almost a full year of people getting sick and they didn't identify them because it might have hurt their business? Who paid for that one?
I was not aware that it was part of the CDC's job to "protect businesses from bad publicity" - HUH??!!!! Your job is to protect public health!!!!!!!!! Businesses and corporations have lawyers, lobbyists and lots of money that they throw around to protect their own interest. And we the people have the government to look after us. And that's all we've got. However, using their own logic, they did not disclose the business's name because they felt it would be affected by "bad publicity," meaning - their business would suffer - as a result of people not going there anymore - hence, you are assuming that people would "use that information to take specific action to protect their health” - which means you should have disclosed it. The CDC's own logic works against them. This is BULL$HIT
that is a good point ryan the only issue I would have if it keeps happening and the public is not alerted. People have a right to know if places are supplied by the same company keeps being a source of contaminated food .
Tao,
68 people in 10 states. That is 1.36 per state in a country of 300 million. Hardly an epidimic. 16,000 people a year lose their lives in drunk driving accidents. We know the cause. Alcohol is still for sale in all 50 states. How many people die per year from tobacco related illness????
How do you feel about that? Where is your outrage???
Tao of wow - In some cases, they identify the source while the outbreak is still happenening. They always let people know the names of the companies involved in those cases.
Once the outbreak is long over, they might not release the name.
In an emergency, an ambulance can run people over - and we give them a pass. The same ambulance doesn't get that pass if they are just going to get gas or food.
So the CDC is going to risk being wrong in an emergency, but once the emergency has passed - they want to be far more careful.
And the recent problems in Europe illustrate this. They blamed several wrong sources before they got the right one. I have no idea how many millions of dollars and hundreds of tons of food they threw out - for no reason - because of a rush get the outbreak stopped.
Again, I think most people would give them a pass on it, but what about the crops/food producers that were wrongly accused? Does the Gov't plan on compensating them for their loss?
I understand what you are saying, and if there is a pattern, or a company doesn't take actions (such as to stop using a supplier or a safety overhaul at that supplier), then they should release the name.
But in this case, months after the outbreak, they didn't release the companies name because it wouldn't make any difference.
1newday - I'm not so sure that the chains have a rate of serving tainted food that exceeds any local single location place when you take them all as a whole.
Chains usually have very specific proceedures, kitchen design, and they use the same source for food (frequently frozen).
It's much easier for the CDC to track the source at a chain. But as for the suppliers being larger, most single location places use large suppliers. They just go to thousands of locations with different owners instead of thousands of locations with a single corp. owner.
I really think it's just easier for their to be a media story on a chain - as everyone around the country will read that article - vs. a single location that no one outside of the area cares about. However, if you add up all the local food contamination stories, you would get a different picture.
It like how non-point specific pollution exceeds point specific pollution, but we only think of pollution in terms of oil spills or other large events, forgetting how all the drops of oil that leak from everyone's cars (and morons who still dump used motor oil in the drains/ditches) add up to more.
Lets talk strictly in terms of the current debate on free market philosophy. According to the free marketeers, companies are punished by the market (consumers) when they do bad things such as poisoning their clientele (consumers). Not telling the public which restaurant it is goes against the very fabric of the free market philosophy. How can we as consumers make informed decisions as to which products or companies we want to punish in the market if the information is withheld from us?
Ronald Reagan would not be pleased.
both good points
68 confirmed cases people who were sick enough to seek medical attention. How many people got sick that were not confirmed, how many people stayed home from work or school because they got sick? elderly? misdiagnosis? the 68 was a drop in the bucket that I am sure had waves. On top of that add up all the food mishaps that go on every year. I am just saying that it would be nice to if the was repeat offenders in the supply chain not only for myself but for the restaurant industry as well.
I don't recall the article being about alcohol or tobacco. I will save my outrage from my perspective for those articles in which it is best suited for.
This all reminds me of Thanksgiving a couple of years ago... The food was left out for hours, with my family and myself picking on it all evening... My wife marveled "Wow.. your family really has no fear of food poisoning, do they?" ...
I replied "Nope... most likely because we've been doing the same thing all our lives and not one of us has had food poisoning yet."
Seriously though, I really can't name a time when I think something gave me food poisoning, and I've eaten some questionable foods.. I still eat rare hamburgers.. I still eat food that's been sitting out on the table.. I use certain foods that are past the expiration date. (Honestly, I've never seen a pickle go spoiled! Even a year after the so-called expiration date! It's a PICKLE for christ-sake!!!")
This doesn't surprise me. I believe that Salmonella is one of the ingredients in their tacos. They don't taste nearly as good without it. I think Taco Bell should announce it on their commercials "We're Number 1 (in food-borne illness!!), so think outside the box and go see your Doc's!!"
Actually the squirts help clean out your digestive tract, so they are really helping you get healthier!
Here's your order
2 Taco's 1 Large Drink 1 Fry and 1 complementary barf bag. The toy comes surprise is later.
Is there any way of determining which of the fast food 'joints' are heavily invested in by our Congress-people?
Taco Bell is too big to fail. If the health risk is corrected, why should people be able to choose another restaurant? On the one hand the CDC would be responsible for costing Pepsi a lot of business after the danger is gone. On the other hand it is a person's right to choose another restaurant for any illogical reason they want.
These agencies clearly do not do their jobs and are probably aligned with these corporations.
We should stop the funds given to these organizations like the CDC and the FDA and fire everyone and start over with the creation of a new agency that is for the citizens and not for corporations.
If someone at one of these agencies are caught in bed with corporate wrongdoers - send them to jail!!!!!
Too much corruption!!!!
A citizens investigation into the affairs of these agencies need to be done.
Since every other agency seems to be corrupt.
Baby. Bathwater.
You do the math, genius.
how so gdsmithtx? if the baby is protections and the bath water is everything else . I guess you would not need to rename the tub ie CDC and FDA. other then that the bathwater is pretty murky and that can't be good for the baby.
and how exactly do you propose to fund your new found agency? Have you heard of PDUFA? User-fees? Basically, since the federal government doesn't have the funds to staff regulatory agencies like the FDA, the users (i.e., corporations) pay fees in order to support the regulation of their own industry.
Now, I agree the FDA and other regulators need an overhaul, but you'll never get away from corporate involvement unless you start slashing other federal funded programs, like defense or social programs. Of course there will be more public outcry if it is even suggested to dip into those funds.
So it's a catch-22...the government doesn't have the money to make us safe, all they can do is impose more regulations which clearly aren't effective in the first place as they cannot be enforced. The corporations have no desire to make us safe, but since they pay for part of the regulatory funding, the agencies are compelled to "cooperate" with them. It's an imperfect system but I don't think completely dismantling it is the answer. Proper funding, passing enforceable and traceable (not necessarily numerous) regs, may be a good start in the right direction.
with the same funds that already go to the CDC and the FDA and the last time i checked there is many years in recent that the DOD can't account for 25% of the budget which is a lot of money
Won't surprise me to read in the headlines soon "Whistleblower at CDC implicates Obama Administration in cover-up" of this scandal. It would have a significant impact on the National Unemployment figures if people stopped going to even one of those FF chains. This is election year. *%&#@%$&#@&@%^# Libs.
It takes a true imbecile to somehow make this story an attack on the Obama administration. Try reading article next time. Why? Because in 2006, they attempted to withhold the name of the company during an outbreak before it accidentally leaked out. And guess who was president at that time? I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Obama.
You right wingers kill me, literally! You push for 'deregulation' and 'smaller govt'. THEN scream when it affects you. THIS IS HOW YOU WANT GOVT TO WORK! It's working EXACTLY the way you want it to, THEN you blame it on OBAMA! What BALLS!
HEY! ease up on the fast food companies......Where would illegals work if they get shut down?
You are a disgusting person. FF companies hire many types of people. AND you must have your papers to get a job at a National Fast Food chain. I suggest to you that you don't eat out. That way you can SAVE yourself and blame no one else.
Sorry Bob, doesn't fly here. Besides, 90% of these types of businesses are self-regulated in the first place. It has been that way for many decades since the government doesn't have any experts in house to do the regulating.
You can go back to worshiping your Obama poster now.
Hannah all that is required is a SSN number. They make one up or steal one. They do it all the time. There was an article right here on MSNBC about a guy finding out that 50 other people (all illegal) shared his SSN.
However, the illegals dont work at fast food places since they can't speak the language.
The board is full of racists today.
Enjoy your Tex-Mex.
:^))))) Me? I am going back to worshiping the POTUS= Barrack Hussein Obama
LOL another crazed teabagger
Seems to me that YOU are the one calling other people names.............!!!
My post is correct by the way and certainly not racist.
They Really do come across the Border with no Vaccinations carrying God only knows what? They just steal a SS number, Next thing you know your eating their Disease riddled food that they have handled, Nothing Racist about that just Gross.
If you have the capacity and the will to examine the Congressional Record between 2001-2008 you will learn that it was George W. Bush and the Republican Congress that not only gutted the Food Handling Regulations but crippled agencies by reducing the number of regulators to an impossibly low level to ensure even minimal compliance and finally for those few regulators that remained, they found themselves without the necessary authority to act against the offending corporations.
What bills were proposed, approved and signed into law by George W. Bush are easy to find and easy to read so even the most blinded by bigotry among us should be able to discover the simple truth of this fiasco.
imnotlost:
Imagine, if you will, what our world would be like if everyone spent more time trying to build each other up instead of tearing each other down...
Perhaps the USA would be a better place if you would take time to improve things. Perhaps you could be a strong voice in America's recovery...
#meanpeoplesuque
KRAZYBOB: I didn't say he told them to do it, just said I wouldn't be surprised to find out he did. Gosh! Lighten up ! You diminishing number of people who lash out in defense of this little man are getting testier by the day. BTW I wouldn't put anything past him. Why doesn't he just issue a proclamation to CDC to stop the practice. Who appointed them Lord over consumer business? If a FF chain wants to stay in business, make sure they're clean when they open up. CDC has no business "saving" any company from loss of business, unless........................... How's the kool aid taste today?
Finding Kindness: You know, there was a time a few years ago when I would never talk to anyone the way you found me today. But then along came Barack Obama and his hope and change facade and he duped the Congress into the worst scenarios I have ever seen in my 62 years. But that's not all that gets my ire, it's not even the half of it. It's the mesmerized liberals who jump on you with all the hate they can muster if you disagree with him. Their first response and favorite is to call you a racist, and if you persist it keeps coming. There was never a Republican who worshipped George W. like the Democrats do this President. They think he is going to make all ills right and put every one on a pedestal and it just isn't so, but they believe it and spew their vile hatred at me and any other poster who dare question his tactics so I have decided to jump in the water and dish it out the same as they do and don't intend to stop until the election is over in Nov. I apologize if I offend you, if you're not one of them my remarks are not intended for you, even if you support our President.
imnotlost - But the thing is this ISN'T an Obama administration issue. Why do you keep attempting to make it one? Can you not see the exact same thing happened under the Bush administration? Take your blinders off.
Businesses that harm public health SHOULD have their bottom line affected. That's market discipline. That's how capitalism is supposed to work. Socialism protects failures from the consequences and that's why socialism doesnt work. Now we have a "too big to be named" policy?
The system has been broken and corrupted by the plutocrats. Big money protects failures from the consequences and that's why plutocracy doesnt work. That's why we have a to "big to be named" policy.
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people".
This ain't socialism, sport. This is CAPITALISM as defined by the right wing. There is NO accountability for corporate malfeasance under right wing capitalism. You guys deregulated govt. Now you're seeing how it works!
Really? Government is deregulated? Riiiiight, which is why I can't build anything on my own property (which I pay taxes for already) without some government person saying it's okay right? Yep, government is deregulated alright, which is why it now takes a decade to build something basic nowadays whereas it took only a few years to accomplish a massive feat such as building the Hoover dam a good 80 or so years ago.
None of the unregulated past projects ever failed right? You want to by some land in Love Canal?
reason 84-You should have known when you purchased your property that there were building codes and zoning laws. I am glad SMALL local government protects me from someone building whatever they want.
Want to build whatever you want? Go buy 100 acres of land surrounded by deep forests and hide away. Build whatever you want until you get caught. LOL you really sound crazed. Gop/teabagger ???
IT has a name. It isn't anything new. IT IS called FASCISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
STILL WRONG Bob.............!!!!!!!!!!
This is both wings taking the worst parts of socialism, calling it capitalism and spinnning it in accordance with their party's spinning points.
Bob the CDC is the government!!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refused to identify the source, other than as “Restaurant Chain A,” a Mexican-style fast-food chain.
Take a breath Peanuts...you're getting confused. Exactly what part of "socialism" is being called "capitalism"? By the way, you act as though socialism and capitalism are opposites; you confuse socialism with communism. Ever heard of fascism? "Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power". - Benito Mussolini
Wow, bob. That was the king of "I know you are, but what am I?" responses. And 8 idiots voted for it. You obviously don't have a clue what either capitalism or socialism mean.
But go ahead, and keep posting, so all the idiot liberal sheep can keep voting for you.
Talk to webster about that.
a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.
Actually Spencer, that's really pretty thought provoking. It sound a little like the economic situation we currently find ourselves in...don't you think?
Thanks CDC for making me paranoid in every food choice I make in the future! I'm glad you don't want to narrow down the offenders for the sake of, oh I don't know, PUBLIC SAFETY!
Or you could be like me, and simply not worry about it.
Who in their right mind eats at Taco Bell to begin with?
"Make some runs for the border!"
Not even remotely funny. Racist in fact. Shame
More like run for the bathroom.
What is "racist" about it Hannah????? He is talking about having the runs.......Grow up!!
You apparently don't know the definition of the term, you just like to throw it around!!
Having an opinion and stating it like the others on here does not make them a racist nor does it make them judgemental. Another favorite term of you left winger hypocrites.
I run when I've got the runs. Thats a bodily function, not a racist comment.
This political correct crap *snicker* has to go, I'm getting really tired of it.
The same people who eat at McDonalds, Jack n the Box, In & Out Burger, Burger King, etc..etc...
Besides Hannah, "Make a run for the border" was a long-running ad slogan that Taco Bell used for many years... sounds like you are the type to bark "racism" at the slightest inkling.
Perhaps if you didn't jump at every shadow, you'd find the world is a bit more pleasant place than you do now.
They need to name the restaurant so that people will not go there.
Actually that's probably the best time to go there.
I think I might actually agree with the CDC on this one. Let's say Restaurant X had an outbreak of something for whatever reason but they fixed the problem and are fully in compliance with all rules and regulations and have in fact improved their safety standards thus greatly reducing the possibility of any repeat. By releasing the name of the place they will quite possibly kill the restaurant in question even though now it is among the cleanest and safest out there. And, along their line of thinking, NOT going there will not prevent you from getting an illness and if they are now doing exceptionally well (safety-wise) your not going there may actually increase your risk.
The problem here is there are other health agencies who could be dealing a similar out break two states over spending resources and time trying to track down the out break. Or perhaps it is due to a common ingredient used around the world and there is a wider outbreak in other countries.
What the CDC is creating is an information gap which has the potential to allow an outbreak to continue longer, spread winder, and kill more.
A valid point. Government is well known for stove piping. Still, I wonder if there isn't a better way around that than simply telling the world it was "X".
Wow i cannot believe people can even think this is a good thing. Do you work for Taco Bell. You serve it you are liable period. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION is a main ingredient to a good democracy. Start letting agencies decide what the public gets to know and we lose our basic freedoms. This is government at its worst.
garry - So I guess the points I made don't mean anything to you at all then?
How ever if the same thing happens again. 2006 and 2010 2011? I think we all should know since chain a has not improved so its best to avoid it. Have you ever heard of the Pink Slime. Most commonly used in fastfood. Laced with all kinds of bacteria and then ammmonized. Thats why i eat at home and cook my own food and grind my own beef. amen
"If Taco Bell were indeed the entity involved in the latest outbreak, the information would allow consumers to decide whether they wanted to continue eating at a fast-food chain implicated in similar outbreaks in 2006 and 2010, Marler said."
Three outbreaks in six years? Hardly the mark of a chain that is "among the cleanest and safest out there," in your words.
But the issue isn't with the cleanliness of the restaurant itself, it's with the suppliers. The suppliers are supposed to regularly test their products for contamination. It is not incumbent upon the restaurants to do that, nor would it even be feasible for them to do that.
What rules? What regulations? There are none. Hell, the CDC can't even force the company to tell it what it knows. They have to rely on VOLUNTARY cooperation AND this has happened TWICE before! So much for the idea of the right wing that 'voluntary' markets work!
Untoryodi, ammmonized is not a word in the English language.
yeah... except you keep saying "if" they improve... Taco Bell walked away from this with no major consequences. And when there is a death involved due to food poisening, or like stated in the article an "OUTBREAK" of deadly salmonella, and e-colli, There should definately be enforced action taken... its scary because what actually happened was for nearly a year the public unknowingly got poisened. First of all the chain restaurant - Should have temporarily closed until the problem of theyre supplier of meats, or whoever was responsible for the diseases was resolved. Instead it was hushed, and remember the CDC is "supposedly" suposed to protect the consumers, not the billion dollar a year corporation. You should definately not be siding with a chain restaurant or the CDC; who knew they were getting people ill, and are responsible for a death. Yet Flat out Refused to warn the public of the dangers..
I am aware of that Mr Peridot. It just sounded good. Also english is not my first language thou i am pretty fluent at it. Smile life is short.
What this article doesn't say is whether "restaurant A" received tainted meat from one of their suppliers, or if they ignored food safety and the meat got tainted that way. I think that if it was the first, they are right not to name the restaurant and name the distributer, which may supply other restaurants as well. If it was the second then the public should know.
don't we have a right to information? Or am I misinterpreting this concept?
Oh no Taco Hell
If you have to start wiping your ass at the back of your neck........? Taco Bell. A roll of toilet paper should come with every drive thru order. Aaaaaayyyyyyyyy Chalupa!
Sirlafalot- Like I said... you are a racist too. Move back to Europe. Take Allen West with you.
I'm partial to saying Toxic Hell myself.
Hannah- cry us all a racist river and get over it.
Sirlafalot-even though this is a very serious subject and we all need to have concerns about food safety, I just have to tell ya-I ROTFLMAO so hard at your TPaper comment. Omgosh. Yanno, how a few days of total stress feels, then to hear or read something that hits a person just right and you can't stop laughing? Too funny and yes, I cracked. lol Gave me an instant pic in the mind of from the back of the neck down with the explosive "I ate something nasty" trots. I have eaten at TBell twice in my old life and both times it smelled like dirty socks to me. Not my choice for fast food. Consumers have the right to know about repetitive violations when people have died as a result from said outbreak bacteria. TY again for the lol. I really needed one today. :^)
Dear Hannah, I'm sorry you are not old enough to remember the Taco Bell commercials that used the terms, "Run for the Border", and a taco eating dog that said "Ayyy Chalupa" among other things. Get off my butt about racism! They were on public television for years! If you are too old to remember them; I may give you a break. Otherwise, your ignorant youth is shining like a lighthouse!
I can understand keeping the company name anonymous, if it is a one time issue at a single location within the chain. But certainly, if this company, restaurant or grocery store chain has a HISTORY of repeated instances... the public should be made aware at the 2nd if not 3rd offense, or if it has affected more than 1 location in the chain because then it is a company wide distribution issue and not a single location mishandling food.
I do feel I have the right as a consumer to know this, so that I can make an educated decision on where I choose to eat and what risk I am willing to take. I for one, am not going to continue to eat or purchase from a chain that is a repeat offended. But I am willing to forgive a single incident. Mistakes happen.
And, if a company knows the CDC will release that info ... perhaps they'll be more careful.
So much for the "transparency" we were promised.
Companies that endanger us should be named, we have a right to protect ourselves since the government doesn't.
But of course if you contribute large sums of money to the current administration you can bribe your way out of the news.
http://democratsforsale.blogspot.com/2008/02/sorosseiu-fund-for-america-527.html
What slime! The GOP pushed DEREGULATION! The GOP doesn't want companies to be held accountable. It's TOM COBURN, the GOP senator from OK and others like him, who want SMALLER GOVT and DEREGULATION. THIS IS CLASS WARFARE folks! This is what it looks like waged by conservatives against the middle class
Bob why don't you use your welfare money to buy a clue instead of alcohol because you must be drunk if you think class warfare has anything to do with the GOP. you are a perfect example of someone that reads one sentence (no matter what it says and thinks they know it all.
Not once has the GOP said they were for deregulating the CDC. They are for Commerce, Education and EPA deregulation. If the CDC acts in a way that is harmful to the public then deregulate that as well. America is a country for those that want to work hard and earn their way, if that doesn't fit your lifestyle then you're in for a rude awakening pal... The free ride is over. Are you one of these people...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI
LOL you are way too funny and way too uninformed.
:^))))
He is a RACIST TOO!! Right Hannah????!!!!
Ha Ha, I'm 13 and I can type! Ha ha. It's like soooooo fun! Racist TXHorseman!
I'd put Romney's $10,000 as a bet that it's Taco Bell. Sure would like to know what Taco Bell. or its lobbyist, is paying President Obama's reelection campaign to hush this up. Sometimes if I want to save money on ex lax, I go ahead and dine at T.B.
T-Total, A-ass, C-collapsing, O-odiferous, B-bowel, E-expelled, L-loose, L-liquid. Enjoy!
Disgusting
"Disgusting" Hanna?
Maybe, but true. Thanks for the laugh, Sirlafalot!!
Sirlafalot....you are too funny and thanks for making my afternoon full of LOLs.
Hannah has left a dark, spiral shaped, swirl mark in the bottom of my heart. I must learn to be more like her! "Ha ha! I can type! I call people racist when I don't understand humor. Ha ha! Hey look! A racist!"
WTF. Someone needs to do an ethics investigation and see how much Taco Bell has to pay to these clowns to keep their name out of it. I do not know who oversees the CDC but someone needs to be fired NOW. This is a complete violation of the freedom of information act. It is government at its worst. Screw Taco Bell, and their share holders if they think they can hide behind the lack of reporting. I hope the victims file a fat class action aganist them. We had something similar happen in Locust Grove Oklahoma and the little restaurant is still in business. Bottom line you make people ill or kill them you are responsible. Yes it is a public realtions nightmare but that is the cost of doing business, and apparently doing business badly in Taco Bells business model. It is all about the power that comes along with Billionaire mentalities. Just buy your way out.
There is more the one taco fast food chain
"Bring out your dead." Kareem in Stephen King's The Stand. We live 30 miles downwind of Atlanta's CDC, the Big Kahuna of CDCs. If anything diabolical broke out of the bowels of the spookiest labs...we'd be dead and gone sitting in front of the evening news broadcasting the emergency.
Wonder how much government silence costs?
If a company has a track record of food born illness then the CDC needs to tell the people so they can make an informed decision not to consume their products!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wait until they get into the breakfast market! Wow! That will keep the sanitation folks busy at the digester.
Oh by the way, guy comments it is obama you are absolutely crazy to think that both the democrats and republicans are not in the political arena for the good of the country. Corruption is rampant on both sides of the Isles. Someone will lose their job after a lenghty tax paid congressional hearing. When really if we screwed up on our job we would lose it in a nano second. They will also be looking for someone to pin it on. Remember Taco Bell is the origonal offender here. Agencies being influenced is what needs to stop and CORPORATE greed is at the root of it all.
In breaking news and after much public outcry, Taco Belle have agreed to rename their restaurant chain to Taco ILL!
You people take everything the CDC says seriously?Catchy initials,anywho you people take everything that this so called government health agency as Gospel are FOOLS.
THE CDC IS A JOKE PEOPLE! A BIG FAT BUREAUCRATIC JOKE!
I think most posters on here realize that the CDC has as much integrity and ethics as say the FDA, USDA or any other non transparent government department that "protects the people"..... NOT>
You people are just too funny.
Eat out more often...
Let's keep the bedroom humor down a bit. I mean c'mon! Are you some kind of a sex pervert racism pointer outer or something?
COMPANIES ARE NOT PEOPLE! They should not have more rights as people!
So then who should go to jail?? I'LL BET YOU'LL SAY THE CEO WHO IS .... A PEOPLE (Yes I know it is person.) Or what we put the buildings in jail???? You are such an idiot.
SS - Maybe not so much. Perhaps a video of a corporate CEO, convicted of "knowingly" endangering the public, in leg irons and an orange jump suit might just have the appropriate effect.
when was the last time a corporation went to jail but if a citizen committed the same infraction ......
if a corporation can not be jailed then the should not be counted as people
Shocking, a government agency blocking transparency of someone they investigate. Just a shot in the dark, how about Taco Bell?
we have at least 4 fast food taco chains plus food trucks. so it might not be taco bell