CARROLLTON, Texas – McLane Foodservice Inc., the distributor to the Taco Bell restaurants reportedly linked to the recent E. coli outbreak in several northeastern states, announced on Monday that a site investigation by the New Jersey Department of Health and Environmental Services (NJDHES) has found no evidence of improper storage or handling practices by McLane.

According to a press release, the inspection, conducted last week at the McLane distribution center in Burlington Township, New Jersey, included a review of the sanitation, product handling and employee health and training practices regularly employed by McLane during the entire period the contaminated products reportedly were received and distributed. McLane observes these same practices and procedures uniformly at each of the 17 other distribution centers comprising its nationwide distribution network.

According to a written statement issued Friday by NJDHES, its inspection of McLane "did not indicate any problems with the firm's food safety operations." NJDHES also announced that all 15 product samples taken from McLane in NJDHES's initial investigative visit last week have tested preliminarily negative.

"We are extremely pleased the state of New Jersey's investigation appears to have confirmed what we at McLane already believed, namely, that any contamination in all likelihood occurred at a source other than McLane," said McLane Foodservice President Tom Zatina. "Because all green onion products arrive to us in sealed cellophane bags inside sealed corrugated boxes, we have felt from the beginning it was highly improbable that McLane caused or contributed to any E. coli contamination."