They are bringing back their burger.
McDonald’s recently announced it will bring back the Quarter Pounder to hundreds of its restaurants after an investigation showed that the E. coli outbreak associated with the burger wasn’t due to its beef patties. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspects slivered onions from a single supplier as the primary contamination source. Following this discovery, McDonald’s will begin offering Quarter Pounders again in the affected locations, now excluding slivered onions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the outbreak has spread across 13 states, affecting at least 75 people. Of those, 22 were hospitalized, with two individuals experiencing serious kidney complications, and one death reported in Colorado. The initial findings by the FDA suggested that uncooked slivered onions were the likely cause of the E. coli contamination. The onions, sourced from Taylor Farms in Colorado Springs, Colorado, were used in the affected McDonald’s locations.
McDonald’s promptly removed the Quarter Pounder from menus in certain areas, primarily in the Midwest and Mountain states, after the outbreak was identified. Roughly 900 of its restaurants had received the contaminated onions, including those in major transportation hubs. McDonald’s has since taken action to remove all slivered onions sourced from the Taylor Farms Colorado Springs facility from its supply chain and has suspended using that facility indefinitely.
Tests conducted by the Colorado Department of Agriculture ruled out beef patties as a contamination source after testing multiple samples from restaurants in the affected regions. Taylor Farms has also issued a preemptive recall on yellow onions from its Colorado facility and is cooperating with ongoing investigations by the CDC and FDA. As a precaution, other fast-food chains like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Burger King also removed onions from select menus.
E. coli 0157:H7, the bacteria linked to the outbreak, can cause severe foodborne illness, including symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea, especially dangerous for young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. In this outbreak, some affected individuals had traveled and dined at McDonald’s locations outside their home states, linking additional cases to travel-related exposures.
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