RISE - Menu Monitor

Taco Bell Corp. will not be liable for losses in some of the 11 lawsuits filed over the E. coli outbreak in November and
December. The restaurants that were named in at least five of the lawsuits are not owned by the franchisor. (NRN Daily
NewsFax 3/1/07)
Yum! Brands has closed several of its franchised restaurants in New York City after a video showing a dozen rats running
around on floors, countertops and tables of a KFC/Taco Bell unit was broadcast on a local television news show. The unit was
ordered closed by the health department. The restaurants, all owned by ADF Franchise Companies, Inc., will remain closed
until they undergo new health inspections. (Associated Press 3/1/07)
Taco Bell is being sued by Boskovich Farms, a grower of green onions, that supplied the chain alleging the chain knowingly
misidentified scallions as the source of the E. Coli outbreak last year. The grower claims that Taco Bell continues to blame the
scallions even after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the vegetable. The grower also claims that most of its
business is destroyed because of it. (NRN Daily NewsFax 3/23/07)
Yum! Brands will permanently shutter the rat-infested KFC-Taco Bell unit in New York City that was closed in February after
evidence of the infestation was caught on tape. The incident prompted a citywide restaurant inspector crackdown as well as
the temporary closing of about 300 restaurants. (NRN Daily NewsFax 5/07/07; Nation’s Restaurant News Online 5/04/07)
Taco Bell is being sued by a woman who claims her infant daughter was given a Gordita with human blood on the wrapper
and in the food. The Louisville, KY, woman alleges her daughter consumed some of the food on December 26 before noticing
what looked like human blood on the package. An investigation by the Louisville Metro Health Department in December found
a small amount of human blood on the outside of a food wrapper, but it appeared that the blood did not pose a health risk. The
lawsuit requests a jury trial and punitive damages. Taco Bell did not comment. (Courier-journal.com 6/13/07)
A KFC/Taco Bell franchisee is being sued for allegedly allowing an employee to urinate on and spit in the food of a policeman
and his family. The suit against Mid Plains Food and Lodging claims the police officer and his wife and two sons became
“violently ill” after eating at a Nebraska franchise in 2005. The lawsuit claims management was aware of employees urinating
on or spitting in food served to police officers but did nothing to stop the acts. The employee in question pleaded guilty in
March to a similar incident. (Nation’s Restaurant News Online 6/25/07)
Taco Bell and KFC failed to comply with a law requiring companies to limit the amount of credit-card information they print on
customers’ receipts, according to two lawsuits filed earlier this month by customers who claim that expiration dates of their
credit cards were illegally printed on the receipt. Attorneys in both cases are seeking class-action lawsuits with damages of up
to $1,000 for each affected customer on top of expenses and attorney fees. (Courier-journal.com 7/23/07)
McDonald’s Corp. and Taco Bell Corp. announced plans to continue operating under the buying agreements they had forged
with the Coalition of Immokalee Workersto pay a penny-per-pound surcharge for tomatoes to benefit the tomato-pickers. The
announcement comes on the heels of a statement by the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange that its members would not
participate in the agreements. The growers’ statement cited concerns over potential violations of federal and state laws
regarding antitrust, labor, and racketeering, since the workers are paid by the growers and not by the end users of the
tomatoes. (Nation’s Restaurant News Daily NewsFax 11/06/07)
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Technomic believes that its sources of information are reliable, but does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information
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