Two campus eateries have responded this week to nationwide
concerns regarding bacteria-contaminated food.
Jamba Juice stores in Westwood and Ackerman Union may have
received shipments of contaminated strawberries, the smoothie
company announced Tuesday.
And Taco Bell said Wednesday it had stopped using green onions
in all of its approximately 5,800 stores after at least 42 people
in three states became ill from eating scallions infected with E.
coli bacteria.
Frozen strawberries shipped from one of Jamba Juice’s
suppliers, Cleugh’s Frozen Foods Inc. of Salinas, tested
positive for the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, according to a
statement released by Jamba Juice CEO Paul Clayton.
The bacteria can cause potentially deadly infections, according
to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, especially in young
children and elderly people.
People who eat the bacteria-contaminated food may suffer
flu-like symptoms including fever, abdominal pain, headaches and
nausea.
Kara Burke, a spokeswoman for Jamba Juice, said the risk of
infection only applies to people who consumed strawberry smoothies
between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1. Since then, Jamba Juice has recalled
all strawberry shipments from the affected supplier.
She added that while a number of stores in Southern California
are listed as potentially affected, that does not necessarily mean
that any contaminated strawberries were ever used at those
locations.
“It just means that it’s possible that some
contaminated strawberries reached that location,” she
said.
Clayton said in his statement that most boxes of strawberries
from that supplier were recalled before they were ever
unpacked.
Several stores in West Los Angeles are listed on the
company’s Web site as potentially affected, including the
Jamba Juice in Ackerman Union and the one located on Lindbrook
Avenue in Westwood Village. Contaminated strawberries may also have
reached stores throughout Southern California, Arizona and
Nevada.
Jamba Juice has stopped shipments from the supplier in question,
and thoroughly sanitized all affected stores, Clayton said in his
statement.
Burke said despite the shipping interruption, no Jamba Juice
stores have altered their menus, and they will continue offering
strawberry smoothies made with fruit from other suppliers.
Still, she said the company is advising concerned customers to
monitor their health.
“If they start experiencing flu-like symptoms, we
recommend they get a blood test, and Jamba will pay for
that,” she said.
So far there have been no confirmed reports of illness resulting
from contaminated smoothies.
While Taco Bell has confirmed over 40 cases of illness related
to infected green onions, all known cases have been linked to
restaurants on the East Coast.
Preliminary testing by an independent lab found that three
samples of green onions appeared to have a dangerous strain of the
bacterium.
“In an abundance of caution, we’ve decided to pull
all green onions from our restaurants until we know conclusively
whether they are the cause of the E. coli outbreak,” said
Greg Creed, president of Irvine-based Taco Bell.
Taco Bell has not yet identified the supplier responsible for
the contaminated scallions.
A statement posted on the company’s Web site encouraged
concerned customers to call an information number Taco Bell has
established.
Eisen Yoon, a third-year English student, said while he did not
think he had consumed any strawberry smoothies from Jamba Juice
recently, the news of a possible contamination was disturbing.
“It makes me a little concerned,” he said. “I
guess it could happen again.”
But he also said the risk probably would not prompt him to
change his purchasing habits.
With reports from Bruin wire services.