IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Taco Bell announced today that it will reopen its eight restaurants in Suffolk and Nassau Counties after voluntarily closing them for one day based on an E.coli issue linked to these units. The restaurants are reopening based on the criteria developed and agreed to by local health departments.

Taco Bell is also working with the Middlesex County Health Department to reopen a restaurant located at 4807 Stelton Avenue in South Plainfield, New Jersey and expects to reopen it today. While these restaurants have not been confirmed as the source of an E. coli outbreak, Taco Bell decided as a precautionary measure to throw out all existing food and bring in new food. In addition, the company completely cleaned and re-sanitized the restaurant, utensils and all cooking equipment.

“We are very concerned for those who became ill and our thoughts are with them as we continue to work closely with health officials as they try to determine the root cause of this,” said Greg Creed, President, Taco Bell Corp. “While the authorities do not know the source of this contamination, they have said there haven’t been any new cases since Nov. 29, so they are confident that it is most likely no longer a threat.”