Taco Bell said Tuesday that it has recalled about 2.3 million pounds of beef after a customer discovered a metal shaving in an order.
The Yum Brands chain voluntarily recalled the beef on Friday. As of midday Monday, 100% of the affected restaurants in 21 states across the eastern Midwest, northern Southeast and Northeast regions have removed and discarded the seasoned beef.
“To ensure the safety of our guests, the company immediately partnered with the supplier to shut down the supply chain, remove the product from restaurants and distribution centers and notify the USDA,” the release said.
The recall comes a few months after Taco Bell announced it was experiencing supplier shortages of tortillas and was “working diligently to replenish the supply.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates the safety of meat, said Tuesday in a statement that there have not been any confirmed reports of adverse reactions from consuming Taco Bell’s beef. In 2006, an E. coli outbreak was traced back to Taco Bell and linked to contaminated spinach. The incident weighed on the chain’s sales for almost a year.
The recalled seasoned beef was made at a single plant location on one of two lines used to create the product. It was sent to distribution centers in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia.
Taco Bell is one of the largest purchasers of beef in the U.S. It serves 290 million pounds of ground beef every year, according to its website.
“Nothing is more important than…
… our customers’ safety, and nothing means more to us than their trust,” Julie Masino, president of North America, Taco Bell Corp., said in a news release. “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.”
The beef products were produced from September 20 to October 4, the USDA said.