After a Taco Bell customer found a metal shaving in their food, the Irvine, Calif.-based chain voluntarily recalled about 2.3 million pounds of seasoned beef from its restaurants and distribution centers in multiple stores across the Midwest, East Coast and Southeast, marking the second supplier issue to impact the chain in recent months.
The recall occurred Friday, and by Monday all product had been removed and replaced without resulting in any shortages, company spokesman Rob Poetsch said Tuesday.
“Nothing is more important than our customers’ safety, and nothing means more to us than their trust,” Taco Bell North America president Julie Masino said in a statement. “As soon as we received the first consumer complaint, we immediately acted to remove the product from the affected restaurants and proactively worked with the supplier to inform the USDA of our steps to protect our guests.”
On Tuesday morning, Masino re-iterated the importance of transparency during a CEO panel discussion at Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual MUFSO conference in Denver, where she will be honored tonight with a Golden Chain award.
Taco Bell said the product was produced at one of two plant locations used to make seasoned beef. The product was sent to distribution centers in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia.
Restaurants in the following states and regions were impacted: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The USDA said there have been no “confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.”
Over the summer, some Taco Bell restaurants experienced a shortage of flour tortillas that impacted sales of menu staples such as burritos and quesadillas.
Taco Bell has more than 7,100 locations in the United States and nearly 30 other countries.
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